Delhi HC reserves verdict on Kejriwal’s plea for more meetings with lawyers

Delhi High Court reserved its decision on Thursday regarding Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea for additional virtual meetings with his lawyers. Kejriwal, arrested in Delhi excise scam cases, sought these meetings to handle his defence in about 35 cases across the country. Both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Tihar jail authorities opposed the request, stating the law treats all prisoners equally.

Kejriwal’s counsel argued that additional virtual meetings were necessary for a fair trial. However, Tihar jail authorities countered, noting other prisoners with numerous cases manage with only two weekly lawyer meetings. The ED alleged Kejriwal was using these meetings to send instructions to Delhi government ministers.

After hearing arguments, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna decided to reserve the order. Tihar jail’s counsel highlighted that Kejriwal initially requested two additional physical meetings and then shifted to virtual ones, but rules should remain the same. The ED’s counsel mentioned a similar request was denied by a division bench and emphasised that Delhi’s prison rules are liberal compared to other states, with all prisoners allowed two weekly lawyer meetings.

The ED’s lawyer also claimed no evidence showed Kejriwal’s legal meetings were insufficient and accused him of using these meetings to communicate with his ministers. Kejriwal’s counsel argued the ED should not interfere as the main issue was with prison authorities and clarified that Kejriwal only sent messages while in police custody, not in judicial custody.

Kejriwal challenged a trial court’s July 1 order that denied his request for two additional weekly virtual lawyer meetings. The court had previously ruled that Kejriwal’s counsel did not justify the need for these extra meetings.

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In separate petitions, Kejriwal contested his arrest and sought bail in a corruption case linked to the excise policy scam. He was arrested by the CBI on June 26 and remains in judicial custody for a related money laundering case by the ED. Although granted bail in the money laundering case on June 20, the high court stayed this order, and the Supreme Court later granted him interim bail on July 12, pending further consideration of arrest requirements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The excise policy, scrapped in 2022 following a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and corruption, was modified with alleged undue favours to licence holders, according to the CBI and the ED. (With inputs from PTI)