NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court directed the Centre to facilitate communication between actor Celina Jaitly and her brother, Major Vikrant Kumar Jaitly (retd), a former Indian Army officer who has been detained in the UAE for over a year.
The court was hearing a plea filed by the actor seeking effective legal representation and basic information regarding her brother’s welfare and legal status. According to the petition, Major Vikrant has been residing in the UAE since 2016 and was working with the MATITI Group, which deals in trading, consultancy, and risk-management services.
The plea claimed that he was “illegally abducted and detained” in the UAE on September 6 last year. It further alleged that despite the passage of more than a year, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been unable to secure clear information about his condition or legal proceedings.
On November 3, the court had sought a response from the Centre. During Thursday’s hearing, Justice Sachin Datta directed the MEA to inform Major Vikrant during the next consular access visit that his sister wishes to speak with him.
Justice Datta also instructed the MEA to facilitate communication between Celina and her brother either through the UAE’s TAMM app (Abu Dhabi’s government services platform) or any other suitable mode.
The court observed that although the MEA’s status report mentioned the appointment of a nodal officer, more clarity was required. It asked the ministry to file a fresh status report and listed the matter for further hearing on December 23. During the proceedings, Celina broke down in tears. Her counsel told the court that she had been unable to communicate with Major Vikrant despite earlier directions. The advocate added that the TAMM app could not be used because it requires UAE citizenship.
The Centre informed the court that efforts were underway to enable communication and that consular access had been granted to Major Vikrant.