India’s top court grants bail to Delhi leader Arvind Kejriwal

Jailed opposition leader to walk out of prison after six months

India's Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to jailed opposition politician Arvind Kejriwal in a graft case, which could secure his release from prison after six months.

Mr Kejriwal, chief minister of capital Delhi and head of the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party), was taken into custody in March just weeks before the national elections by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), an agency controlled by prime minister Narendra Modi’s federal government.

The 56-year-old Modi critic was sent to the capital's notorious Tihar jail over allegations of accepting bribes to favour certain private retailers in a now-scrapped liquor policy. He denies wrongdoing and calls the case politically motivated.

A two-judge bench of the top court granted relief to Mr Kejriwal on a bail bond of Rs1,000,000 (£9,074) and imposed a ban on the chief minister from publicly commenting on the merits of the case.

"Prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty," justice Surya Kant said in his verdict.

Mr Kejriwal was granted bail in the ED case but remained in custody due to his arrest a month previously by the federal police in a graft case related to the same policy.

His wife, Sunita Kejriwal, in a post on X congratulated the political party on the chief minister's bail after six months of detention without trial. "Kudos for staying strong. Wishing also the soonest release of our other leaders," she added.

Delhi's former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was released from prison in August after 17 months, said the "truth has won in the fight against lies and conspiracies".

Mr Kejriwal was granted bail by a Delhi court in June after it found the federal agency had failed to provide any direct evidence against him. But the bail was stayed five days later by the state’s high court, which said the lower court had granted it without going through ED’s entire material.

The same day, Mr Kejriwal was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s equivalent of the FBI, in connection with a corruption case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

Mr Kejriwal was among three leaders of his party who have been arrested on corruption charges. He is also the first serving chief minister to be arrested in independent India.

His arrest deepened fears of a constitutional crisis under the Modi government and sparked protests in Delhi and the northern state of Punjab, which is also ruled by Mr Kejriwal’s party.