Had mangoes only 3 times, Arvind Kejriwal tells court

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 19

A Delhi court on Friday reserved its order on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea to allow him to take insulin in jail and consult his doctor through video-conferencing every day for 15 minutes.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court in an oral observation said the court would examine if the CM was following the court-approved diet chart while consuming home-cooked food in judicial custody.

Senior Advocate Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said mangoes had been included just thrice in his 48 home-cooked meals and he used an artificial sweetener in his tea.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday had accused the Delhi CM of deliberately consuming mangoes, sweets and sugary tea in an attempt to manipulate his blood sugar levels.

Singhvi told the court that mangoes had been made to look like “sugar bullets” by the central agency. He argued that Kejriwal had the right to health even as a prisoner. “Is he a gangster? Is he a hardcore criminal that he cannot get 15 minutes of video-conferencing daily with his doctor?”

The counsel appearing for the Tihar Jail authorities told the court that Kejriwal had said that he was taking insulin earlier but had stopped taking it sometime back. The court asked if the home-cooked food sent to Kejriwal was as per the diet chart allowed by the court on April 1. Singhvi said the diet chart was followed with a small exception that mangoes were sent three times and aloo-poori once in Navratri prasad.

The counsel for the jail authorities said medical facilities were being provided to Kejriwal and he was not facing any difficulty.

The court reserved its order and asked the jail authorities and the ED to file their replies by tomorrow. The order will be pronounced on Monday.

The CM had said that his sugar levels were fluctuating at an alarming rate since he had been taken into judicial custody.

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