Delhi High Court seeks ED, Tihar Jail responses to Kejriwal’s plea for more virtual meetings with lawyers

The AAP national convener—who is currently in judicial custody in the money-laundering and corruption cases linked to the excise policy “scam”—moved the high court against a trial court’s July 1 order that dismissed his application for two additional meetings with his lawyers via videoconferencing in a week.

Kejriwal has said that he has 30-35 cases pending against him, due to which he required consultations and discussions with his lawyers.

On July 1, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Courts said in its order, “The application under consideration discloses no new/fresh ground to take a view different from the earlier order dated 10.04.2024 (when Kejriwal’s similar application was dismissed).”

The chief minister is currently allowed two meetings with his lawyers in a week.

Before the high court, senior counsel Ramesh Gupta, appearing for Kejriwal, said the chief minister was requesting only two more meetings via videoconferencing with his lawyers. “I don’t know what is wrong about that,” Gupta said.

Advocate Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, said he wished to file a reply. The counsel appearing for the Tihar Jail authorities said he too wished to file a reply.

The counsel appearing for the Tihar Jail authorities said he too wished to file a reply. On the court’s query as to the objection to the CM’s plea the counsel that the rule is the same for all and a prisoner is entitled to two meetings with his or her advocate in a week.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the ED in a money-laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. On June 25, the Delhi High Court stayed a trial court order granting him bail in the ED case. The next day, Kejriwal withdrew his plea in the Supreme Court against the high court’s decision to reserve its verdict on the ED plea to stay the trial court’s bail order.

On June 25, Kejriwal was questioned by the CBI in Tihar jail, where he was in judicial custody in the money-laundering case. The next day, the CBI placed Kejriwal under arrest in the corruption case and produced him before the Rouse Avenue court of Special Judge Amitabh Rawat.

The agency sought his custody for five days to confront him with evidence in the conspiracy case linked to excise policy. Sending the chief minister to three-day CBI custody, Judge Rawat said his arrest was “not illegal” and that the agency should not be “overzealous”.

On June 29, the trial court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody until July 12 after his three-day custody ended.