New Delhi, February 17 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted time to the Centre and the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi to pursue the matter through diplomatic channels and seek cooperation from the UAE authorities regarding the detention of Major Vikrant Jaitly (retired), brother of actress Celina Jaitly, in the Gulf country.
The Centre's counsel told Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav that the embassy had requested consular access to Vikrant Jaitly on February 13, which was denied by the UAE authorities, and the next date for such a meeting was awaited.
The Centre's lawyer sought a reasonable time of 3-4 weeks to allow the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy to pursue the matter with the UAE authorities through diplomatic channels to seek necessary cooperation.
"The request seems reasonable. Accordingly, the hearing is adjourned," the court said.
"It is not the case that the ministry is doing nothing... After 10-15 days, nothing will change. The ministry says grant us 3-4 weeks so that we can do something substantial," it said.
The court was hearing a petition by Celina Jaitly seeking effective legal representation for her brother, who has been "illegally abducted and detained" in the UAE since September 6, 2024.
The court asked the Centre to note Vikrant Jaitly's concern during the consular visit regarding allowing a Dubai-based law firm to represent him, as suggested by his sister.
The Centre's lawyer also said that it was pursuing the issue of facilitating an interaction between the court and Vikrant Jaitly.
Vikrant Jaitly's wife requested the court to make her a party in the case so that she could respond to the allegations leveled against her by her sister-in-law, and tendered a note to the judge to bring on record information relevant to the case.
The court permitted the petitioner to respond to the note.
It clarified that it was not going to convert it into a family issue and listed the matter for further hearing in March.
Earlier, the Centre's lawyer said that the Indian authorities were in regular contact with Vikrant Jaitly, who has refused to interact with his sister.
In the petition, Celina said that her brother, who had been residing in the UAE since 2016, was employed with the MATITI Group, which is engaged in trading, consultancy, and risk management services.
However, despite the passage of more than one year, the Ministry of External Affairs failed to secure basic information about Vikrant Jaitly, including his condition and legal status, the plea alleged.
