Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra was arrested in the Saradha chit fund scam in 2014.
Former Trinamool Congress minister Madan Mitra has got bail in the Saradha chit fund scam case after spending 634 days in jail.
Though the bail order came at around 9:30 pm on Friday, Mr Mitra is likely to leave the jail on Saturday.
"I am very happy," he is believed to have told those close to him, "Happy to be home for the Durga Pujas this time." Durga Puja, the state's biggest festival, begins in the first week of October this year.
For Mr Mitra's admirers, however, Durga Puja arrived early. In fact, so did Holi. Green Gulal flew in the air at Bhawanipur, near Mitra's home.
Arrested in December 2014 for links with the Saradha chit fund scam, Mr Mitra got bail last October. But the CBI investigating the case told court saying Mitra "was a person of influence" and should not be allowed out. Mr Mitra was back in jail in a fortnight.
Since then, Mr Mitra contested the Bengal Assembly polls and lost his seat. That meant Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool chief and chief minister, could not make him a minister.
Mr Mitra had to pay bail of Rs 30 lakh and surrender his passport. He will have to report to CBI once a week.
Investigation into the Saradha Group's ponzi scam, which came to light in 2013, is estimated to have wiped out over Rs 2,000 crore of savings by the middle class and the poor who had invested in the hope of unreal returns. Over 100 people who had invested in the Saradha chit funds have committed suicide.
Former Union minister Matang Sinh is among those arrested in the case, while several Trinamool functionaries, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's close aide Mukul Roy, have been questioned.
The CBI took over the investigation in June 2014 on following an order of the Supreme Court.