Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday evening walked out from the Arthur Road Jail to jubilant party members. At around 5 pm, Raut's legal team dropped his bail order into the Arthur Road jail box and at about 6.50 pm, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader stepped out of the prison, where he had spent more than three months.
A large number of supporters of the Rajya Sabha member, who had assembled outside the jail, burst into celebration as soon as he walked out of the jail and raised slogans hailing him. Firecrackers were set off near the jail in central Mumbai by Raut's supporters.
A special court earlier in the day granted bail to Raut and co-accused Pravin Raut while rejecting the ED's request to stay the effect of the order till Friday. The Central agency then moved the high court and sought an interim stay. Justice Bharati Dangre, however, refused to grant such a relief to the ED.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to grant urgent stay on the bail granted to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut by a lower court in an alleged money laundering case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Stating that it can not pass such an order without hearing both the parties, the high court posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.
According to news agency PTI, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday described party leader Sanjay Raut as a "fighter who never succumbed to pressure" after the latter was granted bail in a money laundering case by a Mumbai court. Thackeray spoke to the mother and the wife of Raut over the phone and told them that he would meet Raut soon.
