New Delhi:
Arvind Kejriwal was released from Delhi's Tihar Jail on Friday evening – 50 days after he was jailed on corruption charges related to the alleged liquor scam and hours after the Supreme Court granted bail till June 1. The release of the Aam Aadmi Party leader means he can now campaign for the AAP and the INDIA bloc in the ongoing elections, where Delhi's seven seats will be voted on on May 25.
As he walked out of Tihar Jail Gate No. 4, Mr. Kejriwal was welcomed by a band of flag-waving and sloganeering AAP workers, as well as his wife Sunita Kejriwal and senior leaders like Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj, who have emerged as the public faces of the party while the Prime Minister was in jail.
Mr Bhardwaj said the release of Arvind Kejriwal will be a “game changer” in favor of the INDIA bloc.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also present.
“Thank you to all the judges…”
In his first public comments after leaving jail, Kejriwal thanked “all the judges of the Supreme Court” and, with one eye on the May 25 Delhi elections, called on voters to “save the country from dictatorship” .
“I want to thank you all…you have given me your blessings. I would like to thank the judges of the Supreme Court, it is thanks to them that I am standing before you. We must save the country from dictatorship. ..”
Mr Kejriwal also attributed his release to Lord Hanuman and said he planned to visit the Hanuman Temple in Delhi's Connaught Place on Saturday morning.
He is out on bail until June 1, the final phase of voting for the seven-phase elections. He must surrender on June 2. The court has rejected pleas to extend his bail, but says arguments for longer damages will be heard next week.
Arvind Kejriwal bail hearing
The court had heard Mr Kejriwal's arguments challenging his arrest when it set the cat among the pigeons by noting that it would also hear bail arguments for the AAP leader.
Underscoring Mr Kejriwal's position as an elected Prime Minister, a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta said: “There is an election (and) these are extraordinary circumstances, and he is not a habitual offender. This is a matter of public interest. “
READ | Arvind Kejriwal gets major relief from Supreme Court. Interim bail until June 1
While granting bail to Kejriwal today, the court reiterated that point, noting that the AAP chief, as the chief minister and leader of a national party, does not pose any threat.
“…serious allegations have been made, but he has not been convicted. He has no criminal record…” the court said, also dismissing arguments over the release period.
“21 days will not make any difference… for a year and a half he was there… he could have been arrested before or after (the elections),” the Supreme Court said.
READ | “Deprivation of right to life”: Supreme Court on Arvind Kejriwal's plea
In a key moment earlier this week, the court – which had been hearing a petition by Mr Kejriwal challenging his March 21 arrest – said investigating agencies could not “selectively” choose between material that spoke to an individual's innocence and material that blamed could confirm.
“You are depriving someone's right to life,” the court had said, while also questioning the arresting agency, the Enforcement Directorate, about a two-year delay. “It is not good for any agency to say it will take two years to excavate the land… when will the process start now?”
ED opposed bail for Kejriwal
On Thursday, the ED, which had opposed bail, filed an affidavit detailing its objections.
The agency – criticized for allegedly operating at the behest of the ruling BJP to target and harass political rivals ahead of elections – said no politician can claim a “special status” higher than that of an ordinary citizen, and that he could just as easily be arrested and detained. for committing criminal offenses like any other citizen.
READ | 'No fundamental right to campaign': ED opposes bail for Kejriwal
There is no 'fundamental' right that entitles Arvind Kejriwal to campaign for bail, the ED argued.
The agency also pointed out that no political leader had ever been granted bail for campaigning and said releasing Mr Kejriwal from jail to field his party candidates would set a wrong precedent.
“Scam Mastermind to return to jail,” says BJP
The BJP, meanwhile, has tried to pour cold water on the opposition's joy over Mr Kejriwal's release, noting that he would be out only for a short period and will have to return to jail.
READ | “Scam Mastermind to return to jail”: BJP on Kejriwal's release
Alleged liquor policy scam in Delhi
The ED alleges that the AAP government's liquor policy (now scrapped) allowed it to receive kickbacks for allotment of licenses amounting to an amount of Rs 100 crores used to fund its poll campaigns. The AAP and Mr Kejriwal have strongly denied the allegations and accused the BJP of making false allegations to defame the party and its leaders before the elections.