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Court grants MEA four weeks to secure meeting in UAE detention case
February 17, 2026: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted four weeks to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to obtain consular access to retired Major Vikrant Jaitly, who has been detained in the United Arab Emirates for over a year. The bench of Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav directed the MEA to apprise him of developments in the petition filed by Bollywood actor Celina Jaitly, seeking effective legal assistance and regular updates on her brother’s welfare. The court also instructed the MEA to file a status report, noting that approval for consular access from UAE authorities is still awaited and may take three to four weeks.
During the hearing, Vikrant’s wife Charul Jaitly appeared in person and opposed the submissions made by Celina’s counsel. She sought in-camera proceedings, which the court declined. The bench clarified that it was not adjudicating a family dispute but hearing a petition against the Central Government. Earlier, the court had directed the MEA to facilitate a meeting with Vikrant Jaitly and arrange for the signing of a power of attorney in favour of UAE-based law firm Khalid Al Maree and Partners, which has offered to represent him pro bono.
The High Court had also asked both Celina and Charul to work in tandem to secure Vikrant’s release and restrained the parties from interacting with the media without permission. Previous orders directed the Centre to facilitate communication between Celina and her brother and to enable legal representation in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, subject to local approval. The matter is now listed for further hearing on March 16.