New Delhi, India

Sanjay Singh, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, has come out from Tihar Jail following bail granted by the Supreme Court in the Delhi excise policy case. Singh was released on Wednesday evening a day after being granted the bail. 

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"This is the time to struggle. The biggest leaders of our party (AAP) - Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain - have been kept behind the bars. I am confident that one day the locks of this prison will be broken and they will come out. This is why I want to say that this is not the time to celebrate, this is the time to struggle," Singh said after his release.

A big gathering of AAP supporters congregated outside Tihar Jail, where Singh had been held since October 2023, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding alleged irregularities in the defunct Delhi excise policy.

Earlier, a Delhi court instructed Singh not to interfere with evidence or influence witnesses. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja mandated Singh to surrender his passport, disclose travel plans within the National Capital Region (NCR), and maintain active phone location tracking.

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The Supreme Court bench granted bail to Singh following the ED's no-objection and allowed him to resume political activities but restricted him from commenting on the case. The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta, and P B Varale passed the decision, citing trial court conditions.

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Legal respite for AAP

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Singh's bail offers some relief to AAP, grappling with the arrest of its key leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal. Party members contend that the case relies on coerced statements.

Also read | India: Congress mulls expelling Sanjay Nirupam after he targeted ally

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the ED on March 21, with subsequent judicial custody, has drawn scrutiny. Kejriwal questions the timing of his detainment, alleging constitutional violations and disrupting the electoral fairness fundamental to democracy.

(With inputs from agencies)