Delhi court nixes CM Kejriwal’s plea for consultation with his doc; to be given insulin in jail

New Delhi, April 22:  A Delhi court on Monday turned down the application moved by incarcerated Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, seeking permission to consult a private doctor of his choice daily for 15 minutes through video conferencing for his acute diabetes and fluctuating blood sugar levels.

However, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Court stressed that the AAP leader be provided with adequate medical treatment while he remains under judicial custody.

The court ordered that in case, CM Kejriwal requires special consultation in jail, the prison authorities will consult the medical panel to be constituted by the Director of AIIMS, Delhi.

This Medical Board will also determine the dosage of insulin to be administered to CM Kejriwal, in addition to his diet and exercise plan, as per the court’s decision.

In the meantime, CM Kejriwal can continue to have access to home-cooked food, as far as it continues to be in line with the recommendations made by the medical panel, the judge clarified in her order.

Last week, CM Kejriwal approached the court seeking direction to jail authorities to administer insulin to him and allow him to consult his regular doctor via video conferencing saying that his blood sugar level dropped to 46.

He also sought a direction that his wife Sunita Kejriwal should be allowed to join the virtual consultation with Dr Ravichandra Rao.

During the hearing, the probe agency alleged that CM Kejriwal was deliberately eating mangoes and other high-carb food in jail to raise his blood sugar levels to build a case for bail.

It said that Kejriwal was consciously consuming items like tea with sugar, banana, sweets, poori-aloo sabzi, etc. regularly, despite being a Type 2 diabetes patient, "knowing very well that consumption of such items results in an increase in sugar levels", and that this is being done to create a medical emergency “to obtain sympathetic treatment from the court on medical grounds."

On the other hand, senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing CM Kejriwal, accused the ED of misrepresenting the diet chart prepared by his doctor and opposed the agency’s allegations of deliberately increasing sugar levels, saying that he cannot risk “paralysis" just to get bail.

CM Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged excise policy scam, is lodged in Jail No. 2. He is under judicial custody till April 23.