"I'm thankful to court," says Raut after getting bail in money laundering case

Im thankful to the court a visibly emotional Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut told the special judge who granted him bail in a money laundering case on Wednesday hundred days after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate EDSpecial judge MG Despande responded by saying he just did his duty and decisions of courts are based on the merit of the caseThe Shiv Sena UBT leader who was arrested on August 1 walked out of Mumbais Arthur Road Jail in the evening hours after securing bail in the money laundering case pertaining to the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in GoregaonThe special court handling cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act had last week reserved its order on Rauts bail plea after hearing lengthy arguments from defence and prosecution ED sidesThe Rajya Sabha member 60 entered the courtroom at around 1215 pm dressed in a khaki waistcoat over white kurta and a pair of matching pyjamas His family members and a number of supporters were present in the court in anticipation of a positive outcomeLawyers from both sides were present in the court ready with their next legal moves depending on the courts orderAlso read Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul targets PM Modi over demonetisationEven as Raut his family members and supporters were waiting anxiously the judge seemed to be in no hurry He kept dictating the order to his stenographer unperturbed by crowd building in his courtroomFinally at around 115 PM the courtroom burst into cheers and applause It was the moment when court staff informed that the parliamentarians bail plea has been allowedEmotions ran high as people hugged each other and congratulatory messages poured in the court Be it family members or Rauts supporters everyone was delighted For a moment it looked like a scene straight from a courtroom drama movieHowever celebration took a pause briefly when the ED sought a stay on execution of the bail order The Shiv Sena UBT leader had to wait for another hour before the court decided on the ED plea as it was time for lunch breakEven though there were some uncertainties over execution of the bail order Rauts supporters were already in jubilant mood as their beloved saheb was about to walk out of jail after spending more than three months in prisonThey started greeting each other with the chants of Jai Maharashtra and smeared coloured powder on each others facesAs the court assembled postlunch a dash of nervousness was visible on otherwise calm Rauts face However the court didnt take long in announcing that the EDs plea had been rejected paving the way for the MPs releaseAfter use of colours it was time for some fireworks as Rauts supporters burst crackers outside the court premises an unusual scene for regular court attendees be it litigants lawyers or even journalistsWhen it was time for Raut to be taken back to the prison for completing formalities for his release the veteran politician with a folded hand told the judge in Marathi Nyalacha abhari I am thankful to the courtFinally at around 630 pm Raut walked out of the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai capping a day of high drama and emotionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever