Supreme Court has sanctioned Jayalalithaa's request for bail
Across Tamil Nadu this morning, special prayers were performed at temples, urging divine intervention to deliver J Jayalalithaa back to her party from the Bangalore jail where she has spent three weeks.
A little after noon, the Supreme Court sanctioned the politician's request for bail. She was represented by Fali Nariman, one of the country's top constitutional experts.
Whether the 66-year-old is able to leave prison today depends on how quickly paperwork is processed in Bangalore, where she was convicted for corruption on September 27 and given a four-year jail sentence. Six ministers have reportedly flown to Bangalore in anticipation of their leader's release.
At her residence in Chennai, hundreds of supporters celebrated, dancing and waving their arms in the pouring rain. "For us, Diwali is here," said one. Many pointed out that the news about Ms Jayalalithaa's bail comes on the founding anniversary of her party, the AIADMK.
Keep cadres under control, the Supreme Court said to Ms Jayalalithaa, while allowing her to leave jail.
Her arrest last month, the subsequent decision by the Karnataka High Court to refuse her bail, and the Supreme Court's insistence that she wait her turn for a hearing instead of jumping the line as requested by her lawyers has driven workers of the AIADMK into bouts of public and often violent frenzy.
When things have not gone her way in court, women have collapsed into each other's arms, sobbing; some have shaved their head in an expression of mourning; men have set public buses on fire and attacked the homes and offices of the DMK, the other big Tamil Nadu party, that pursued the case against Jayalalithaa for 18 years, and ensured it was transferred from Tamil Nadu to neighbouring Karnataka to ensure she had no home advantage.
She was convicted for corruption in the early 90s during her first term as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. The verdict aborted her third term, since lawmakers who are convicted of serious crimes are disqualified from office according to a landmark Supreme Court verdict.