The Delhi High Court has directed the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to issue an appropriate authorisation in favour of a Dubai-based law firm to represent Vikrant Jaitly, a former Indian Army officer and brother of actor Celina Jaitly, who has been detained as an undertrial in the United Arab Emirates for the past 18 months.

During the hearing, government counsel Arnav Mittal informed the Court that officials from the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi had met Vikrant Jaitly on January 21 and apprised him of locally accredited lawyers and law firms, subject to cost. It was stated that one such firm, M/s Khalid Alamri, had volunteered to provide legal representation on a pro bono basis. The Embassy’s status report recorded that Jaitly had indicated that the decision regarding engagement of counsel would be taken by his wife, Charu Jaitly.

Appearing for Celina Jaitly, Advocate Raghav Kacker submitted that Vikrant Jaitly urgently required legal representation as his bail application needed to be filed, and under UAE law, bail cannot be sought once charges are framed. He emphasised that the proposed firm had already prepared the bail application but required an authorisation from the MEA to proceed.

The Court observed that there was no legal impediment to permitting representation on a pro bono basis and held that the absence of consent from the wife could not be a ground to deny legal assistance. Emphasising that no person can be left unrepresented merely due to family-related issues, the Court directed the MEA to issue an authorisation letter in favour of M/s Khalid Alamri to represent Vikrant Jaitly for all legal purposes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The Court further clarified that no expenses would be incurred as the representation would be entirely pro bono. The matter is listed next on February 10.