The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Tihar Jail authorities to respond to a plea by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh claiming that he was not being allowed to meet Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in prison.
Mr. Singh said the jail authorities denied him a physical meeting with the Chief Minister, who is lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case linked to the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy.
The court asked the jail authorities to file their response to the petition before the next date of hearing on September 9.
Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing Mr. Singh, submitted that Mr. Kejriwal is facing serious medical health conditions and his family wishes to meet him to check on his health. “The way the jail superintendent was dealing with things shows the shocking state of affairs,” Mr Mehra submitted.
The counsel said while denying a physical meeting to Mr. Singh, the jail authorities have cited Rule 588 of the Delhi Prison Rules which states “ex-prisoners and habitual offenders, who apply to see their friends lodged in a prison, may not be permitted such interview by the superintendent unless and until there exists a genuine reason for such interview”.
Mr. Singh, who is also facing prosecution in an excise policy case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on April 2.
Earlier, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Kumar Pathak had approached the court seeking a direction to the jail authorities to allow him a meeting with the CM in prison.
The jail authorities had permitted Mr. Pathak to meet Mr Kejriwal twice in April but refused to give him permission the next time, claiming that certain statements made by him after meeting the Chief Minister were in contravention of the prison rules and mostly politically motivated.
Published – September 05, 2024 01:30 am IST