Sisodia was warmly welcomed by AAP leaders Atishi and Sanjay Singh, and other supporters amid ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ slogans outside Tihar jail.
Thanking BR Ambedkar, Sisodia said it was only because of the power of the Constitution that he was out of jail today.
“Ever since this order came in the morning, every inch of my skin has been feeling indebted to Babasaheb. I don’t understand how we will pay off this debt to Babasaheb,” he said.
“I have not endured the pain (alone) in these 17 months, you all have suffered it. I know that the number of people in this country who love me have increased manifold in these 17 months,” said Sisodia as he addressed supporters.
“I have come out of jail due to your love, God’s blessings and power of truth, and biggest of all, the dream of Babasaheb that if any dictatorial government comes to power and puts Opposition leaders behind bars by forming dictatorial laws, then this country’s Constitution will protect them … I got bail due to power of Constitution and democracy; this power will ensure our leader Arvind Kejriwal is also released,” he said.
He also raised ‘jail k taale tutenge’ slogans in support of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who is still in jail.
The top court grated bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister and pulled up the lower courts and saying his long incarceration without trial had deprived him of the right to speedy justice.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan said it is high time trial courts and high courts recognise the principle that “bail is rule and jail is exception”. “As observed time and again, prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial,” the bench said while describing Sisodia as a man with “deep roots in society”.
During the hearing, the CBI and ED had pleaded the apex court to impose same condition on Sisodia which was imposed on CM Arvind Kejriwal but the court refused the plea.
The SC ruled that the delay in trial and long incarnation is valid ground to grant bail in money laundering cases despite stringent twin condition mentioned in the PMLA.
Sisodia was taken into custody by the CBI on February 26, 2023, for his alleged role in the irregularities surrounding the creation and execution of the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. The Enforcement Directorate arrested him on March 9, 2023, as part of the money laundering investigation related to the CBI’s FIR. He resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
AAP welcomes court order
Delhi education minister Atishi, while inaugurated a new school in Dwarka, was moved to tears during the ceremony as she noted that senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia had laid the foundation for the school.
Beginning her address with “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Inquilab Zindabad,” Atishi remarked, “The school we are inaugurating today was a project started by Sisodia, and on the day of its opening, he has been granted bail.”
She concluded, “Today, truth has triumphed, education has won, and the children have won.”
AAP leader Gopal Rai said, “It’s a day of happiness for the people of Delhi and the country. The way Manish Sisodia had established a role model of the education revolution, but a dictatorial government kept him in jail for 17 months, without any facts and in a fake case. Today, the truth won. We and the entire Delhi thank the Supreme Court.”