The fishermen from Rameswaram, who were released by Sri Lankan authorities on Thursday, arrived by an Air India flight at 1.05 am, PTI reported quoting airport officials.

They were welcomed by the Tamil Nadu Ministers B Valarmathi, Dr S Sundararaj and K A Jayapal, Union Minister of State and senior BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan, state BJP President Tamilisai Soundararajan.

The fishermen are expected to meet the Tamil Nadu chief Minister O. Panneerselvam before they return to their homes.

Sri Lanka's Colombo High Court on 30 October 2014 sentenced the five fishermen from Tamil Nadu - P Emerson, P Augustus, R Wilson, K Prasath, and J Lanklet - to death on charges of drug trafficking. They were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy in 2011 for smuggling 995 grams of heroin.

The court ruling sparked protests in Tamil Nadu and the Indian officials used diplomatic channels to get them released.

The High Commission of India in Sri Lanka through legal counsel filed an appeal against the lower court's ruling in the Court of Appeals on behalf of the fishermen. However, the appeal was later withdrawn by the fishermen in order to facilitate their release through a presidential pardon.