(Bloomberg) -- India’s top court granted bail to Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, an outspoken critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, allowing him to be released from prison almost half a year after he was first arrested.
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that keeping Kejriwal in jail for a prolonged period without trial deprived him of his personal liberty. He still faces charges related to alleged kickbacks received in a now-scrapped liquor policy in the state, accusations he’s denied.
Kejriwal — leader of the Aam Aadmi Party that governs Delhi — was arrested just weeks before India’s election kicked off in April. His party accused Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party of using federal investigative agencies to target opposition leaders and undermine them before the vote. The BJP has refuted those allegations.
Kejriwal was granted bail and released from prison for a few weeks during the election period, but returned to jail just two days before the results were released on June 4 after his bail was revoked.
At least two other senior leaders from his party are also facing charges in the same liquor policy case and were jailed for extended periods before being granted bail. All the cases are yet to go to trial.
“Truth wins — The locks of the dictator’s prison are broken by the power of truth,” Manish Sisodia, a senior AAP leader, said Friday in a post on social media platform X.
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