Court allows Kejriwal’s wife access to his medical records, permits her to seek doctors’ advice

The court rejected Kejriwal's application seeking directions to prison authorities to allow Sunita Kejriwal to be his attendant during consultations with doctors.

Delhi: A court in New Delhi on Saturday allowed jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita access to his medical records and permitted her to independently consult and seek advice from the medical board or doctors on his behalf.

However, the court rejected Kejriwal’s application seeking directions to prison authorities to allow Sunita Kejriwal to be his attendant during consultations with doctors.

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Special Judge Kaveri Baweja stated that Kejriwal had not been admitted to a hospital, and according to Delhi Prison Rules, permission for a family member to attend to an under trial prisoner is granted by the jail superintendent in consultation with the medical officer in charge, only when the prisoner is admitted to a hospital.

The court saw no reason to make an exception for Kejriwal, particularly since several other inmates undergoing treatment for the same ailment had not been permitted to have an attendant. Regarding granting Kejriwal’s wife access to his medical records, the court noted that the prison authorities had no objection and that Kejriwal agreed his records were being “duly shared” by the authorities concerned.

Additionally, Kejriwal’s family members have been providing home-cooked food in accordance with the diet prescribed by the AIIMS medical board. On Kejriwal’s request to permit his wife to independently consult and seek advice from the medical board or doctors, the court acknowledged this necessity to ensure his prescribed diet was prepared properly.

The court directed that, in case of such a query, Sunita Kejriwal may independently approach the concerned medical board or doctors, who may have a meeting or consultation with her to discuss the method of preparation of Kejriwal’s medically prescribed diet, if permitted under hospital rules.