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Pojaman faces charges of corruption over a real estate deal, and over fraudulent securities filing.
The court revoked her arrest warrant, but granted bail on condition that she did not leave the country and would not interfere with judicial proceedings.
Judges set Jan 23 as the opening date for her trial on charges of using her husband's political influence to buy from a state agency prime Bangkok real estate allegedly at one-third its estimated value.
Thaksin, who faces the same charges and also an arrest warrant, was ousted in a military coup d'etat in September 2006 and has since stayed out of the country in self-exile.
Yesterday, from one of his overseas bases in Hong Kong, the billionaire said in a message on his website: 'I have long said that I will return to Thailand to prove my innocence and to fight for justice, but I do not want to trigger any conflicts that would worsen the situation.'
He added: 'I want to reassure you that when the appropriate time comes, I will return to Thailand to prove the innocence of myself and my family.'
Pojaman arrived at 9.30am yesterday from Hong Kong aboard a commercial Thai Airways flight.
The airport's arrival area was thronged by reporters and police, but senior police officers met her and took her straight to a waiting car.
She turned up later at the Supreme Court, dressed in black and grey in deference to the mourning period for the King's elder sister, Princess Galyani Vadhana, who died on Jan 1.
'Pojaman is returning because the Thai people are mourning the loss of the Princess,' Thaksin said on his website.
'Pojaman, as a loyal subject of the King, wanted to return to Thailand to live her private life as a mother...to be close to our children.'
Accompanied by the couple's children, Pojaman - who planned later in the day to sign a condolence book opened for the Princess - was escorted past a throng of reporters and photographers up the stairs of the Supreme Court.
'She came here today to prove her innocence,' her legal adviser Noppadon Pattama - now a People Power Party (PPP) MP-elect - told reporters after the hearing.
Her return formed a piece of political theatre against the backdrop of recent elections which saw the PPP, set up by her husband's loyalists, emerging as the single largest party.
But whether it will be able to form a government remains an open question for a range of reasons, not least because it has the disapproval of Bangkok's ruling elite, and dozens of its winning candidates face investigations which could see them disqualified, eroding the party's number of seats won.
The usually low-profile Pojaman was often credited by Thaksin for his success in business and politics.
She had a major say in the inner circle of his Thai Rak Thai party, which was ordered to be disbanded in August last year on grounds of electoral fraud. The order was issued by Thailand's Constitutional Court.
