NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday strongly opposed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking permission to increase legal visits in jail, saying special privileges cannot be extended to him merely because he wants to run the government from inside the jail.
After hearing the argument, the court reserved the order on Kejriwal’s plea for Monday.
The chief minister’s counsel told the judge that multiple cases were pending against the politician and that one hour a week was insufficient for a person to understand and give instructions.
“This is the most basic legal right that I am asking to meet my advocate. Sanjay Singh was granted three meetings when he had only five or eight cases,” the counsel said.
The ED opposed Kejriwal’s prayer for five meetings with his lawyer every week, saying it was against the jail manual.
“Even as per the jail manual, five legal visits cannot be allowed. ED said that generally only one legal visit is allowed, and only on special occasions twolegal visits are allowed,” the probe agency said. It claimed that the AAP leader was seeking relief in legal meetings to run his government from jail.
The probe agency said that the legal meetings can be misused for other things. “It is being used for any other purpose than legal mulaqat (visit),” it said.
“Merely because someone chooses to run the government from the prison he cannot be treated as an exception and cannot be granted the privilege,’ the ED’s counsel told the judge. He alleged that legal interviews were being misused by Kejriwal for purposes other than consultation.
The CM has issued some instructions on matters related to governance from behind bars. His Aam Aadmi Party has asserted he will run the government from jail, the probe agency said.
“If you are under valid judicial custody, certain rights are curtailed. You don’t have absolute rights... they are curtailed in accordance with the jail manuals,” the probe agency said. The ED’s submissions were opposed by the defence counsel.
“People are unequally treated and you have to balance them. Here is a person who has 30 cases going on against him’. Can I be equated with someone who has one case against them?’ the CM’s counsel said.