New Delhi: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court Thursday said contempt proceedings will be initiated against some of the respondents in the excise policy appeal case.
Justice Sharma said “I cannot stay silent”, and that it has come to the notice of the court that some “extremely defamatory” and “vicious” content has been posted against her by some of the respondents.
The court said a detailed order will be announced at 5 pm.
The court was due to announce the names of the amicus curiae (friend of the court) for proceeding in the case. Justice Sharma acknowledged the purpose of the hearing and said the court had made efforts in that regard. Further, she said that some senior counsels had “graciously accepted” to be amicus.
Senior lawyers, including Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju for the Enforcement Directorate and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), were present in court Thursday.
The excise police case involves senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak. The current hearing arises from a criminal revision petition filed by the CBI challenging a discharge order passed by the trial court against the accused in the case.
Last month, Kejriwal and others had requested the recusal of Justice Sharma from hearing the CBI’s appeal, citing an “apprehension of bias”. Kejriwal had argued his application in-person.
Justice Sharma, however, refused the application for recusal, stating that “judicial integrity cannot be put to trial by a litigant”. The court said that such a recusal would set a troubling precedent.
Subsequently, Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak communicated their refusal to appear before Justice Sharma for the remainder of proceedings in the case. In a letter posted on social media, Kejriwal had said he had no expectation of justice from this bench and would not appear in-person or through legal counsel for hearings.
Hence, the amicus is being appointed by the court in order to proceed with the case in the absence of Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak. The process of appointment has already faced delays, and Justice Sharma was expected to make the final announcement Thursday.
This is a developing story.
Saumya Sharma is an alum of ThePrint School of Journalism, currently interning with ThePrint.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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