New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday appointed Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura as amicus curiae to assist the court in the contempt case against former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, journalist Saurav Das and others over their alleged scandalous social media posts against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who was hearing the excise policy case.
Rajdipa Behura previously represented the Delhi government as its additional standing counsel, and the CBI as its Special Public Prosecutor.
Amicus curiae is a Latin term that refers to a “friend of the court” or an individual who is not directly a party to a legal case but is permitted to assist the court by offering information, expertise, or insight on the matter.
Rajdipa Behura was designated Senior Advocate from a pool of 300 lawyers who had applied in 2024. She was among the 71 lawyers recommended by the Delhi High Court’s Permanent Committee after interviewing the 300 lawyers.
Behura possesses over 25 years of litigation experience across a range of criminal and civil matters, including those related to arbitration, company law, the Foreign Exchange Management Act, the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and even family law, among others.
Also On Friday, a two-judge bench of justices Navin Chawla and Ravindra Dudeja clubbed two contempt cases—one initiated by Justice Sharma against Kejriwal and others in the excise policy case, and another filed against them by advocate Ashok Chaitanya.
The case will be heard next on 4 August by the two-judge or division bench of the Delhi HC.
Terming the posts made by Kejriwal, Das and others “scandalous and contemptuous content” against a sitting judge of the Delhi HC, Chaitanya’s plea argued that these posts were based on misleading assertions relating to the professional engagements of the judge’s family members, such as her son and daughter.
The matter originates from the CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the formation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2022 by the AAP government under chief minister Kejriwal.
In February 2026, the trial court discharged all 23 accused in the case, including Kejriwal. Following this, the CBI approached the Delhi High Court challenging the discharge order. The CBI plea was heard by Justice Sharma.
Chaitanya’s plea says that while the case before the HC was still pending, Kejriwal “unsuccessfully attempted” to seek its transfer from the judge’s court to another. Subsequently, he approached the Supreme Court.
After this attempt failed, he moved another plea for recusal of Justice Sharma, the lawyer’s plea states, adding that when the recusal plea was about to be heard, Kejriwal, Das and other respondents initiated a “concerted and orchestrated campaign on social media”.
The said posts, among other things, alleged a supposed conflict of interest, bias, and impropriety, and were based on misleading assertions relating to professional engagements of the judge’s family members, the plea adds.
Also Read: A recusal after refusal to recuse: Why Justice Sharma framed contempt charges against Kejriwal & co
Who is Rajdipa Behura
Senior Advocate Behura has extensively represented both government and private clients regularly in the Supreme Court, and high courts, tribunals and commissions across the country.
She has previously held notable positions, including the Delhi government’s additional standing counsel, and the CBI’s Special Public Prosecutor.
She has also served as a senior panel lawyer for the Central government, and as a special counsel for multiple state governments like Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab, among others.
The senior Delhi-based lawyer has also served as the member of the state supervisory board under the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994, Directorate of Family Welfare, Odisha.
Notably, she also represented the Central government before the Unlawful Activities Prevention Tribunal in Meghalaya, and served as a member of the Delhi High Court Bar Association’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).
Rajdipa Behura also appeared for two Delhi Police assistant sub-inspectors seeking protection from arrest after multiple FIRs were filed against them following clashes between lawyers and police over a parking dispute at the Tis Hazari court complex in November 2019.
The Delhi High Court took notice of the clashes as two policemen were booked for attempt to murder charges. A two-judge bench had ruled that no coercive action should be taken against the suspended policemen.
The court also sought response from police, the Bar Council of India and the Delhi High Court Bar association, among others. It passed orders for protection from arrest for lawyers.
Behura had also served as an additional standing counsel of the Delhi police in the past.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: HC notice to AAP’s Gopal Rai, journalist Saurav Das in contempt plea over posts on Justice Sharma