NEW DELHI (AP) - India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of a key opposition Congress party leader on bail in a case involving alleged bribery and money laundering benefitting his son’s company.
Palaniappan Chidambaram, a former finance minister, has denied the allegations and accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of pursuing a political vendetta.
His attorney said the court ordered Chidambaram’s release on 200,000 rupees ($2,850) bail.
A large number of Congress party supporters greeted Chidambaram as he left New Delhi’s Tihar prison on Wednesday night after spending 106 days there.
“We are with you,” they shouted.
The court ordered Chidambaram not to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence ahead of his trial, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
The judges also ordered Chidambaram not to leave the country without permission or make public statements about the case, PTI said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation accuses him of illegally obtaining 3 billion rupees ($43 million) from a Mauritius-based firm for his son’s company while he was finance minister in 2006.
Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party came to power after defeating a Congress party government in 2014.
Several senior Congress party politicians and high-ranking government officials faced bribery charges after New Delhi hosted the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
For years, anti-corruption campaigners have said the party in power in India uses the top investigating agency to cover up wrongdoing and target political opponents.
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