NEW DELHI: India’s top court granted bail on Friday to a powerful south Indian film star-turned-politician jailed last month for corruption, a ruling that sparked jubilation in her home state.

Jayalalithaa Jayaram, 66, an ex-film star and a longtime head of Tamil Nadu, was convicted last month of having land, gold and other assets vastly exceeding her income in a case that had dragged on for nearly two decades, and sentenced to four years in jail.

The Supreme Court ruled that hugely popular Jayalalithaa, known as “Amma “or “mother” to adoring supporters, could be freed on bail pending an appealagainst her conviction.

“She’s been given conditional bail,” senior lawyer Subramanian Swamy, a former friend of Jayalalithaa who filed the corruption case, told reporters.

Jayalalithaa’s supporters danced joyously, waving their arms, flashing victory signs and shouting “Amma, Amma” in New Delhi and in her Tamil Nadu home state, after the court’s decision.

Following her conviction, Jayalalithaa, head of the AIADMK or All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party, was obliged by law to step down as Tamil Nadu chief minister.

She was replaced by a loyal follower at a swearing-in ceremony where many cabinet members sobbed into handkerchiefs in an emotional display of fidelity.

The Supreme Court insisted in exchange for granting Jayalalithaa bail that the politician — nicknamed the “iron butterfly” for her firm rule — appeal to her supporters not to resort to violence over her case.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2014