ED: Arvind Kejriwal can’t get special rights to run govt from jail

The Enforcement Directorate argues against special privileges for Kejriwal in prison, citing misuse of legal meetings. Kejriwal's request for more counsel time is met with opposition, highlighting limitations in jail regulations. ED's noncooperation claim leads to Kejriwal's temporary confinement in Tihar Jail. Court to announce judgment on April 9.

NEW DELHI: “Merely because someone chooses to run govt from the prison, he cannot be treated as an exception and cannot be granted the privilege,” Enforcement Directorate (ED) argued on Friday, opposing chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking more time with his counsel.
The court of special judge Kaveri Baweja reserved its order on Kejriwal’s plea and will pronounce the judgment on April 9.

Through his counsel, advocate Vivek Jain, Kejriwal submitted that 35-40 cases were going on against him and one hour per week was not sufficient for a person to understand and give instructions.
“This is the most basic legal right that I am asking for to meet my advocate. Sanjay Singh was granted three meetings when he had only five or eight cases,” the counsel submitted before the court.

ED, represented by special counsel Zoheb Hossain, told the court that five legal meetings were against the jail manual. Hossain submitted that the legal interviews were being misused for purposes other than for just consultation. “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,” he said.
“When a person is in jail, his stature outside is irrelevant and he is treated equally. They have already been conferred two meetings in a week.

One of the consequences of JC (judicial custody) is that your exposure to the outside world is limited and in accordance with law,” the special counsel submitted before the court.
In response, the counsel for Kejriwal submitted that Article 14 of the Constitution had two facets and one of them was that unequals should be treated unequally. “Here is a person who has 30 cases going on against him. Can I be equated with someone who has one case against them? They say the three (meetings) would be misused. Then, these two can also be misused,” Jain said.
He further submitted that eight people were surrounding them during a legal meeting and they were standing in close proximity.
On April 1, after ED claimed that Delhi CM was noncooperative and should be sent to judicial custody, the same court sent Kejriwal to Tihar Jail till April 15 in the Delhi excise policy case.
The enforcement agency didn’t seek further remand, subject to the right of asking for further custody later. The central probe agency cited the Senthil Balaji judgment of Supreme Court in its support