In a landmark decision today, India’s Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister and prominent opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal, allowing him to participate in the ongoing national election campaign.
Kejriwal, who has been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, become taken into custody in March at some point of an investigation into alleged corruption linked to liquor licensing regulations implemented by way of his authorities in 2021. The guidelines, which have been later reversed, caused the arrest of of Kejriwal’s pinnacle aides and sparked giant protests throughout foremost towns in India.
The Supreme Court’s ruling, added by using Justices Sanjeev Khanna and Deepankar Datta, lets in Kejriwal to stay out of custody till the final day of vote casting on June eleven. This selection comes amidst claims from Kejriwal’s colleagues that his arrest was part of a ‘political conspiracy’ orchestrated by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in advance of the elections.
Kejriwal, 55 , has served as the Chief Minister of Delhi for nearly a decade and is understood for his staunch anti-corruption stance. His arrest marked the first time a sitting leader minister become detained while in office, raising worries amongst Modi’s political fighters and global human rights groups about the shrinking democratic area in India.
The opposition alliance, which includes more than two dozen events and counts each Kejriwal and Congress Party member Rahul Gandhi as participants, has been competing collectively inside the election in opposition to Modi’s BJP. Gandhi himself faced a conviction for crook defamation last 12 months, which led to a temporary disqualification from Parliament till the excessive court suspended the sentence.
