Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar jail on September 13 after the Supreme Court granted him bail in a corruption case registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged excise policy scam.
"My life is dedicated to the country. Every moment of my life, every drop of blood is dedicated to the country. I have seen a lot of struggle in life, faced a lot of hardships, but God has supported me at every step because I was truthful and honest," said Kejriwal after being released.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief saying prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty.
The top court directed Kejriwal not to make any public comment on the merits of the case. It also ordered him to be present for all hearings before the trial court unless exempted.
On September 5, the top court had reserved its verdict on Kejriwal's pleas. Kejriwal filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and against his arrest by the CBI in the corruption case filed by the central agency.
The AAP chief was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 this year in connection with a money laundering probe related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22. Later on June 26, Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI while he was in custody of the ED in the excise case.
The apex court, on July 12, granted bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case.
Reacting to Supreme Court's order today, Kejriwal's wife Sunita slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "BJP's plans have been washed away. They want to jail the opposition leaders and stay in power. Their only goal is this...," she said.
Former deputy chief minister and AAP minister Manish Sisodia, too, lashed out at the BJP and the Modi government following Supreme Court's order. This judgement is not only important for us but for all citizens, said Sisodia. "The judgement also clears that the BJP was using ED and CBI as a caged parrot to hatch conspiracies against Arvind Kejriwal. It was BJP's aim to keep him inside the jail," he said.
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