Ranchi, April 18 : Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda was Thursday released on a three-week provisional bail after spending about 40 months in jail for his involvement in various graft cases.

Koda was granted three weeks' provisional bail by the Supreme Court Tuesday.

After his release from the Birsa Munda central jail here, the tainted politician went straight to a hospital to meet his ailing mother.

"My mother is everything for me. I pray to god that she recovers," Koda told reporters after meeting his mother.

Koda was arrested in a graft case in November 2009, a month after the Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate had raided 69 places linked to him in the country. Koda was at the centre of a Rs. 2,500-crore money laundering scam.

Koda faces various graft cases including amassing wealth by misusing his office. He was sworn in as the chief minister of Jharkhand in 2006 and remained in office until he resigned in 2008.(IANS)