Justice Neena Bansal Krishna criticized Pathak’s previous conduct during a jail visit, where he made political statements after meeting Kejriwal. The court remarked that Pathak acted as Kejriwal’s “agent or spokesperson,” which violated the Delhi Prison Rules.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday(4th Sept) upheld a decision by Tihar Jail authorities to deny AAP MP Sandeep Pathak permission to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
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Justice Neena Bansal Krishna criticized Pathak’s previous conduct during a jail visit, where he made political statements after meeting Kejriwal. The court remarked that Pathak acted as Kejriwal’s “agent or spokesperson,” which violated the Delhi Prison Rules.
“The petitioner made statements on behalf of Shri Arvind Kejriwal, functioning more like an agent or spokesperson, rather than exercising his right to free speech. These statements are not protected under the reasonable restrictions imposed by the Delhi Prison Rules (DPR),”
the Court stated.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna further said he is at liberty to move an application seeking visitation, which shall be considered by the jail superintendent in accordance with law.
Pathak had challenged Tihar Jail’s April 24 decision, which denied his request for a physical Mulakat, citing his previous political statements as a breach of Rule 587 of the Prison Rules.
The court, having reserved its order on August 22 after hearing arguments from both Pathak’s counsel and Tihar Jail authorities, has now disposed of the petition.
Earlier, the jail authorities had permitted Pathak to meet Kejriwal twice in April but denied him permission for another meeting, citing that statements Pathak made after these meetings violated prison rules and were primarily politically motivated.
Kejriwal is currently in Tihar Jail in connection with the alleged excise policy scam.
The High Court upheld the jail’s decision but noted that future applications from Pathak to meet Kejriwal would be considered by the jail authorities in accordance with the law.
Senior Advocates Sudhir Nandrajog and Rahul Mehra, along with advocates Baani Khanna, Karan Sharma, Mohd Irshad, Chaitanya Gosain, Robin Singh, and Vivek Gaur, represented Pathak.
Case Title: Sandeep Kumar Pathak v The Superintendent Central Jail No 2 & Anr
