Ranchi, June 28: Yashwant Sinha was today granted bail by the court of Ranchi judicial magistrate Rajiv Ranjan in a case registered against the senior BJP leader for laying siege to the chief minister’s residence four years ago.

Sinha was impleaded as an accused in the case registered by Gonda police station on March 12, 2008.

Leading an agitation against corruption and price rise during the then Madhu Koda regime, Sinha along with party workers including BJP leaders Yadunath Pandey, Sanjay Seth and Ajay Maroo had gheraoed the chief minister’s residence to protest alleged misrule by the UPA-led state government.

Sinha had appeared before the court on April 21, 2011, and sought bail. He was released on a bail bond of Rs 5,000 by the court. But thereafter, since Sinha and the others did not appear in court regularly, their bail was cancelled and the court issued non-bailable warrant to secure their presence.

The Hazaribagh MP, along with Pandey, Seth and Maroo appeared in court today and apologised for not being present on previous dates. The court accepted the trio’s petition for apology and ordered their release on bail.

Rampant corruption, scarcity of electricity and drinking water and poor performance by the government were highlighted by Sinha as the key issues for the mass agitation. The former external affairs minister had said that government neglect had led to a chaotic situation in Jharkhand.

Sinha had braved a scorching sun to march from the historic Morabadi grounds before almost breaking a police barricade near the chief minister’s residence on Kanke Road. The BJP supporters first assembled at Morabadi grounds and took out a procession in the afternoon leading to the high-security zone.

As police stopped the procession a 100-odd yards from the chief minister’s residence some managed to break the cordon and reached the entrance shouting anti-government slogans. The agitators then squatted on the road for more than an hour and were dislodged by the police.