Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi and a key political opponent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was granted bail on Friday after spending several months behind bars on accusations of accepting kickbacks in exchange for liquor licenses. Kejriwal, a prominent leader of an opposition alliance that challenged Modi in the recent national elections, was first detained in March in connection to the ongoing corruption investigation.
The Supreme Court ruled that while Kejriwal’s arrest was lawful, he should be released from custody as he contests the charges. “Prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty,” Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant stated in the verdict.
Kejriwal was briefly released earlier this year to campaign in the general elections, but returned to jail after the voting period ended. The charges stem from a policy introduced by his government three years ago to liberalize liquor sales in Delhi. The policy, which was later withdrawn, led to an investigation into alleged corrupt allocations of licenses and the arrest of two of Kejriwal’s top allies.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has denied any wrongdoing and has refused to step down from his post. His arrest sparked rallies across major cities in India, where supporters called the accusations politically motivated. Opposition leaders have claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been using government institutions to silence political rivals.
Kejriwal, who has held office for nearly a decade, initially rose to prominence as an anti-corruption crusader. His arrest has drawn attention from both domestic and international organizations concerned with the state of democracy in India.
The situation is reminiscent of Rahul Gandhi’s case, where the Congress party leader was convicted of criminal libel and sentenced to two years in prison, leading to his disqualification from parliament. Though the verdict was later suspended, the incident fueled concerns over the targeting of political opponents under Modi’s government.
Both Kejriwal and Gandhi are members of a larger opposition alliance aimed at contesting Modi’s BJP in future elections.
