SC dismisses Chandrasekhar’s plea seeking extension of time to meet lawyers in jail

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court denied a petition filed by alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and his wife Leena Paulose seeking an extension of the visitation time allotted by jail authorities to meet with family, friends, and legal representatives.

A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi chastised Chandrashekhar for filing such a petition and stated that visitation is already provided to him in accordance with prison rules. The Supreme Court rejected his plea, noting that the accused were not in a position to seek such “privileges” and make such “extraordinary demands.”

The counsel for Chandrasekhar stated that 28 cases against his client are pending across the country, that more than ten lawyers have been retained, and that the visitation time allotted by the jail rules is insufficient.

The bench took exception to the submission and said, “You give the name of the lawyers, and we will ask the jail authorities to allow your lawyers to stay in jail. What kind of statement you are making in this court? Do you want a privilege in jail?”

“According to jail rules, only 30 minutes twice a week are allotted for meetings with lawyers, which is insufficient,” his lawyer said, adding that his client’s right is being violated.

Chandrasekhar filed the petition in the Mandoli jail, requesting an extension of time to meet with and consult with his lawyers. Chandrasekhar and his wife are being held in jail on suspicion of money laundering and defrauding several people.

He is charged with numerous multi-million dollar fraud cases, as well as extorting Rs 200 crore from the family of former Fortis Healthcare and Ranbaxy Lab promoters Shivinder and Malvinder Singh from the prison grounds.