Delhi HC reserves order on Arvind Kejriwal's plea for additional meetings with counsels

ED's advocate contended that the motion is not viable because Arvind Kejriwal is no longer in their custody following his SC interim bail.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday postponed its decision on Arvind Kejriwal's request for two extra legal consultations with his lawyers via video conferencing from jail. The plea was opposed by the attorney for the jail officials and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Justice Neena Bansal Krishna reserved the order after hearing arguments from both sides. Senior advocate Ramesh Gupta represented Arvind Kejriwal, reported ANI. 

According to the ANI report, in their response, the jail authorities maintained that jail rules prohibit new meetings and that changing the modality from physical to video conferencing does not change this restriction.

The ED's advocate, Zoheb Hossain, contended that the motion is not viable because Kejriwal is no longer in their custody following his Supreme Court interim bail. However, Kejriwal is still in judicial prison in a CBI case related to the Delhi Excise policy. Hossain emphasised that all accused are treated equally in jail, with only two legal consultations allowed for each, the report added. 

According to the ANI report, senior counsel Ramesh Gupta argued that providing Kejriwal with two additional legal consultations would be harmless, noting that the ED did not oppose similar privileges for other accused individuals.

Previously, on July 1, the Rouse Avenue Court refused Kejriwal's request for extra legal consultations via video conference from Tihar Jail. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja denied the motion, citing the applicant's failure to establish the need for additional meetings beyond the grounds mentioned in an earlier judgment, the report added. 

The special judge had previously said, " Learned counsel for the applicant has failed to convince the court as to how the applicant is entitled to two additional legal meetings through VC on the same grounds which have been discussed and dealt with in the earlier order. There appears to be no reason whatsoever to take a different view on the basis of the contents of the application under consideration."

On April 10, 2024, the court declined Kejriwal's similar application, finding that there were no fresh grounds to support a different decision, stated the ANI report. 

Kejriwal's attorney said that he is facing over 30 lawsuits across the country, necessitating more meetings to ensure a fair trial. It was also claimed that Kejriwal has been arrested in another case by the CBI since filing the application, and that co-accused Sanjay Singh was granted further legal meetings by an order dated February 22, 2024.

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