DHAKA: Twenty-two days after she was convicted in a disproportionate assets case and arrested, former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa returned home to Chennai Saturday evening.

She was granted bail by the Supreme Court yesterday on medical grounds.

When she reached her residence at Poes Garden, Jayalalithaa was greeted by hundreds of supporters who had braved the heavy rain and assembled there.

Many AIADMK supporters had also lined up along the side of the road to cheer on her convoy. Some of them broke out in impromptu celebratory dances as their leader returned home, reports NDTV.

She had left Bangalore central jail, where she had been since her conviction and arrest on September 27, and flown to Chennai in a chartered plane.

O Panneerselvam, who replaced Jayalalithaa as Tamil Nadu chief minister after her conviction, had earlier reached Bangalore to receive her.

Ms Jayalalithaa, 66, followed the Supreme Court's directive and issued a statement on Friday evening, urging the adoring workers of her party, the AIADMK, to remain calm and not resort to violence, as they have in recent weeks.

She was convicted by a Bangalore court for collecting land, gold and other assets vastly exceeding her income in a case that had dragged on for nearly two decades.

She was sentenced to four years in jail; she has appealed against her conviction and sentence in the Karnataka High Court.

** Jayalalithaa likely to walk out of Bangalore prison

BDST: 2155 HRS, OCT 18, 2014