A former Wells Fargo executive was granted bail on Tuesday after weeks in custody for urinating on a fellow passenger aboard an Air India flight.

Shankar Mishra, former vice president of the US banking giant's Indian operations, was arrested earlier this month after a days-long manhunt.

The 34-year-old allegedly unzipped his pants and urinated on a 72-year-old woman seated in business class last November while flying from New York to New Delhi, in an incident dubbed "peegate" by local media.

A court in the Indian capital released Mishra with a 100,000 rupee ($1,200) bond on Tuesday, reversing the earlier denial of bail by a lower court that said his act was "utterly disgusting and repulsive".

Mishra has denied the charges and his lawyer told the court that the woman, an Indian classical dancer, had in fact urinated on herself.

He has been banned from flying on Air India for four months and was immediately sacked by Wells Fargo when the allegations came to public attention.

Air India faced severe criticism for its handling of the woman's complaint and for allowing Mishra to disembark as normal when the aircraft landed.

India's aviation regulator fined the carrier nearly $37,000 and suspended the pilot for three months for not reporting the incident.