Kejriwal Wants Permission For 5 Legal Meetings A Week In Jail; Court Seeks Response From ED, Tihar Officials

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal filed a petition in the Rouse Avenue court on Thursday, requesting an increase in the number of permitted legal meetings per week. His plea seeks to raise the number of ‘mulaqats‘ to five times a week from the current allowance of two.

In his plea, Kejriwal stated that he is facing multiple FIRs in various states, requiring a significant amount of legal work. He argued that the number of meetings should be increased to accommodate this workload.

The court has requested a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Tihar Jail authorities regarding this matter.

During a press conference earlier today, Sunita Kejriwal relayed a message from husband Arvind Kejriwal to all party MLAs, asking them to discuss the problems of the state’s people and resolve them.

“Just because I am in jail, the people of Delhi should not suffer in any way. Every MLA should visit their area every day and discuss people’s problems and sort them out,” Sunita Kejriwal conveyed, while reading out her husband’s message.

On Thursday, the authorities at Tihar Jail said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann can meet his Delhi counterpart, but only as a regular visitor in the ‘mulakat jangla’.

The ‘mulakat jangla’ is a room inside the jail with an iron mesh that separates the inmate from the visitor. By sitting on different sides of the mesh, a visitor and an inmate can talk to each other.

Despite Mann’s request for a meeting inside the prison, the interaction will occur through the mesh, with necessary security arrangements made due to Mann’s Z+ security cover. The Punjab CMO has sought time and requested the Tihar administration to make necessary arrangements for the meeting.

Delhi CM Kejriwal, lodged in jail number 2, has listed five names, including his wife, children, personal secretary, and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, whom he can meet in jail. He will have to add Mann’s name to the list, as per jail protocol. Currently, Kejriwal is meeting his lawyer daily and had a video conference with his wife and children on April 2.

(With inputs from PTI)