NEW DELHI, Sept 13 (Askume) – India’s Supreme Court granted bail to opposition leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, paving the way for his release nearly six months after his arrest.
Kejriwal’s release is expected to boost the morale of his decade-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as it will give him a chance to contest next month’s Haryana regional elections, where the AAP is trying to make headway in the campaign, and also give him an opportunity to campaign in Delhi early next year.
Kejriwal was first detained by India’s anti-financial crimes agency in March , just weeks before the country’s national elections, over alleged liquor policy violations in the capital.
Although he was granted bail in the case in July , he has been in custody since his arrest by federal police a month earlier in a corruption case related to the same policy.
Kejriwal, 55, and the AAP have denied the allegations and said the cases are “politically motivated”.
Justice Surya Kant, while ordering Kejriwal’s release, said that the issues involved in “liberty” and “long imprisonment” were unjustified.
However, Kejriwal’s appeal challenging his arrest was divided among two judges. Justice Kant said it was valid, while Justice Ujjwal Bhuyan said the timing of the arrest raised serious questions.
Bayayan said the federal police “not only have to be transparent, but also have to appear to be so… In the democratic functioning of the rule of law, people’s perceptions matter.”
AAP’s first reaction after the verdict was: “Truth can be disturbed, but not defeated.”
Opposition parties have demanded Kejriwal’s release, saying his arrest is an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prevent him from getting a fair chance to compete in the election, but Modi and the BJP deny the charges.
Other countries, including the United States, urged a “fair” and impartial trial .
On Friday, the BJP said Kejriwal’s bail does not mean he is innocent.
