Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Of Sukesh Chandrashekhar & Wife Seeking More Time For Meeting With Lawyers

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, refused to entertain a writ petition filed by alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and wife Leena Paulose seeking extension in the visitation time allotted by jail authorities to meet family, friends and legal representatives.

Noting that the accused persons were not in a position to seek such ‘privileges’ and make such ‘extraordinary demands’, a Bench comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice Bela M Trivedi dismissed the petition.

The Counsel appearing on behalf of the two accused persons apprised the Bench that as per the prison rules, his clients are provided facilities for seeing and communicating with family members, relatives, friends and legal advisors. However, he submitted that they are allowed the said facility only for 30 minutes, twice a week. He sought extension of the said time period citing his difficulty. He submitted that there are 28 cases pending against the accused across the country for which more than 10 lawyers have been engaged, and the visitation time allotted as per the jail rules is not sufficient. It was argued that the same infringes upon the right to legal representation envisaged under Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India.

The Bench took exception to the submission that accused persons can make such extraordinary demands. An irate Justice Rastogi told the Counsel, “Give a list of the lawyers. We will ask the jail authorities and keep them in the prison itself. Let the lawyers stay with him inside rather than going to meet him everyday.”

[Case Title:Sukash Chandrashekhar v. UoI And Anr. WP(Crl) No. 192/2023]

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