MUMBAI: In a significant development, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was released from Tihar Jail today hours after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in an ongoing money laundering case. Kejriwal had been in custody since he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case and has been in prison for 177 days with a brief period of bail he got for campaigning for Lok Sabha. 

Kejriwal who is also Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief was released on a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh and two sureties of the same amount, with the condition that he refrain from making public comments on the merits of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case.

The Supreme Court’s decision came after a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan reviewed the case and the judges agreed to grant bail. Justice Bhuyan considered that the AAP chief was not a threat to the investigation and allowed him to be released on a personal and also noted that the CBI’s arrest seemed intended to 'frustrate bail' granted in the ED case. 

A Delhi court on Friday issued a release order for Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the alleged excise scam corruption case. Special Judge Rakesh Syal passed the order after Kejriwal's lawyers submitted a bail bond of Rs 10 lakh along with two sureties of the same amount. The court also approved the defence's request to send the release warrant via a special messenger for Kejriwal's swift release.

Addressing his supporters and party workers immediately after his release, Kejriwal expressed gratitude to the Supreme Court and asserted that his "morale is higher than ever." He stated that the attempt to "break" his morale by jailing him had failed, and he vowed to continue fighting against "anti-national forces."

"They wanted to break me by jailing me, but my morale is now 100% higher than ever. I will continue to fight against dictatorship with all my might," Kejriwal said.

The Delhi Chief Minister's release from Tihar Jail came amid a high-profile political battle, as he was arrested in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The case has been a subject of intense political controversy, with the BJP accusing the AAP government of corruption.