AAP hails bail to Kejriwal as ‘victory of truth’

Friday, otherwise rainy and overcast, was a day of celebrations for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with senior leaders and petty functionaries alike revelling in the Supreme Court verdict, granting bail to Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.
Soaking wet from the ceaseless rain but grinning with delight, AAP workers began dancing in the streets and distributing sweets as Kejriwal made his way out of the Tihar jail complex at 6.25 pm — where he had been lodged for the past severalmonths in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
Kejriwal had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested the CM while he was in custody. Barring a brief 21-period in May-Une, during which he was granted interim bail, Kejriwal had been incarcerated ever since.
With his release, all AAP leaders arrested in connection with the excise policy case have now received bail. Senior party leader Satyendar Jain, who was arrested over money laundering allegation in a separate case, remains behind bars.
On Friday, the AAP celebrations were focussed around three points —outside the Tihar complex, where party functionaries waited with bated breath for Kejriwal to emerge, and roared with appreciation as he gave his first wave while exiting the prison; and at the AAP headquarters at Ravi Shankar Shukla Lane near Mandi House, and the chief minister’s official residence at 6, Flagstaff Road, both of which were decorated with multiple hoardings bearing the CM’s photograph and captions such as “Satyamev Jayate” (truth alone triumphs)” and “Kejriwal Aa Gaye” (Kejriwal has come).
Soon after the court granted Kejriwal bail, his wife Sunita Kejriwal walked out of the CM’s residence and distributed sweets to AAP functionaries.
“Today, the BJP’s plans have failed. They want to remain in power by putting opposition leaders in jail,” she said.
Separately, Sunita Kejriwal in a post on X said, “Congratulations to AAP family! Kudos for staying strong. Wishing also the soonest release of our other leaders.”
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court granted relief to Kejriwal, strongly reiterating that “bail is the rule and jail an exception”, while emphasising that personal liberty must prevail over prolonged detention pending a trial, especially when it does not threaten societal interests or derail the judicial process.
Shooting down the CBI contention that Kejriwal should be relegated to trial court for bail, a bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said that an evolved jurisprudence of bail is crucial for a socially sensitive judicial process. The bench further noted that the investigation by CBI was complete in the matter and that the trial was likely to be delayed due to the large number of witnesses and documents involved.
Justice Bhuyan also revived the controversial “caged parrot” metaphor for CBI, highlighting concerns about the federal agency’s integrity and operational motives.
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj cited the Supreme Court remarks and said, “The court has clearly said that the premier agency of the country worked with a sense of vengeance.”
Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia — himself out on bail in connection with the excise policy — said the court’s order was a “tight slap” for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
“The BJP must apologise to the country as it has been exposed before the Supreme Court today for openly misusing ED and CBI,” Sisodia said.
Meanwhile, AAP parliamentarian Sanjay Singh said the BJP cannot break Kejriwal’s spirits by keeping him behind bars.
“This is a very happy moment for every worker of the Aam Aadmi Party. This is a very happy moment for the entire country and Delhi as well,” he said. “Now we will defeat BJP badly in the election battle of Haryana and Delhi. This campaign will get a lot of strength after Arvind Kejriwal’s release.”
Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadhad, “I thank the Supreme Court… He (Arvind Kejriwal) is not just a name, but a brand of honest politics. He had to go to jail for 6 months because of his increasing popularity.”
Meanwhile, Delhi minister Atishi said that with Kejriwal’s release, the people of Delhi will get relief from their problems.
By putting Arvind Kejriwal in jail, the BJP wanted to trouble the AAP and the people of Delhi. The people of Delhi were watching all this and they were very angry with the BJP. Now Arvind Kejriwal ji has come out, and the people of Delhi will get relief from the problems they had to face because of the BJP,” she said.