The 49-year-old former telecom minister and currently MP, was granted bail by the special 2G court on an application filed by him last week, holding that his further detention would not serve any purpose as all the other 13 co-accused have already been out of jail.
Considering the period of detention in the light of the progress of the case, the court said it was of the opinion that further detention of Raja would not serve any purpose.
M A Parameswari, Raja's wife, who was in the court when the order was passed by Special CBI Judge O P Saini, was visibly relieved as she told reporters outside later that the family is happy and will have a get together. "There will be no celebrations," she said.
Celebrations broke out outside the court soon after news of his bail trickled out with a large number of his supporters and some party MPs gathering to cheer him. They distributed sweets.
In his 14-page order, the judge imposed several conditions on Raja including a ban on his visit to his home state of Tamil Nadu or the Department of Telecom (DoT) which he presided over as minister for over three years.
He had resigned as minister in November 2010 in the wake of the eruption of 2G scam, into whose probe the Supreme Court had given stern directions. (More)