In a relief to former AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair, the Supreme Court on Monday granted him bail after nearly 23 months of incarceration in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, observing that liberty is “sacrosanct” and needs to be respected in cases involving even stringent laws.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti also relied upon the legal principle of “bail is rule and jail is exception” referred to by a bench headed by Justice B R Gavai while granting bail to AAP leader and former deputy chief Minister Manish Sisodia and and BRS leader K Kavitha in the same case.