Delhi court reserves order on CM Kejriwal’s plea seeking more time with lawyer

A Delhi court on Friday reserved its order on a plea filed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking permission to spend more time with his legal counsel to prepare for the cases pending against him in several parts of the country.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court listed the matter for pronouncement of judgement on April 9.

On Monday, the court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam, as the AAP supremo moved an application seeking three books — Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, and How Prime Ministers Decide.

In another application filed on Thursday, the Chief Minister claimed that two weekly meetings with his lawyer, as permitted by the court, were insufficient as he faced multiple cases in various states and needed more time for consultations.

He urged the court to increase the number of meetings with his lawyer to five per week.

On Monday, the Chief Minister was produced before the court amid tight security, as the counsels for both the ED and Kejriwal made their submissions virtually.

Senior advocates Vikram Chaudhary and Ramesh Gupta appeared for Kejriwal, while Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju represented the probe agency.

The ED arrested Kejriwal on March 21 after questioning him for over two hours at his official residence in Delhi.

The ED has termed the Chief Minister the “kingpin and the key conspirator” of the alleged excise scam in collusion with other ministers of Delhi government, AAP leaders, and other persons