Delhi HC judge opts out of Kejriwal excise case after initiating contempt

New Delhi: In a new twist to the ongoing CBI appeal hearing against the acquittal of all the accused in the Excise Policy case, Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kant Sharma initiated criminal contempt proceedings against the former chief minister. Arvind KejriwalAAP activists Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj and others, and then withdrew from hearing the main issue.“One cannot surrender before a powerful litigant,” Justice Sharma observed when he filed a contempt case against Kejriwal, adding that instead of challenging the adverse order against him before the high court, he “campaigned defamation” against him on social media.He said he would now only hear contempt cases and transfer appeals, so that “respondents” would not later claim that he was biased against them. The judge said that while the excise policy case was being heard inside, “a parallel narrative was created outside … and dictated to this court … by supporters armed with political power.”

Justice Sharma took exception to Kejriwal’s social media posts shared by other AAP officials that attributed to him “political allegiance” and targeted him for posting a misleading “edited” video of his speech at an educational institution in Varanasi.“After I refused to withdraw, Arvind Kejriwal sought to tarnish my reputation instead of seeking legal redress and this deliberate attempt to curtail the authority of the court under the guise of freedom of speech cannot be allowed,” Justice Sharma said.He pointed out that Kejriwal wanted to sow “seeds of distrust”, but warned that “judicial silence cannot tolerate threats of judges’ silence”.

Gandhiji’s Satyagraha won: Kejriwal

He said he would now only hear contempt cases and transfer appeals, lest “respondents” later claim he was biased. The judge said that while the excise policy case was being heard inside, “a parallel narrative is being created outside… and dictated to this court… by supporters armed with political power”.Justice Sharma took exception to Kejriwal’s social media posts shared by other AAP officials that attributed to him “political allegiance” and targeted him for posting a misleading “edited” video of his speech at an educational institution in Varanasi.“After I refused to withdraw, Arvind Kejriwal sought to tarnish my reputation instead of seeking legal redress and this deliberate attempt to curtail the authority of the court under the guise of freedom of speech cannot be allowed,” Justice Sharma said.He pointed out that Kejriwal wanted to sow “seeds of distrust”, but warned that “judicial silence cannot tolerate threats of judges’ silence”.Citing Kejriwal’s “conduct”, the judge said it was expected that once the petition seeking his withdrawal was decided, “the issue would be put to rest”.“The defendant could have gone to the Supreme Court for a challenge, but he did not, instead he issued a video and repeated the same allegations and grounds which were rejected by this court,” Justice Sharma said. He also referred to Kejriwal’s letter to X in which he announced his decision to boycott court hearings.“The tone, tenor and manner were not of fair criticism. They have launched a campaign, and the social media campaigns have called into question the integrity, impartiality of this court,” the high court observed. A detailed copy of the order is awaited. The judge read out part of his order during the special session at around 6:30 pm and lasted for about an hour and a half.Justice Sharma clarified that he is not recusing himself but only transferring the case to another bench as he has initiated contempt proceedings. “By selectively editing the letters and videos, the respondents tried to intimidate the court and create confusion by dragging out members of my family,” the judge said, adding that the intention was “calculated contempt”.AAP chief Justice Sharma, unfazed by the order of contempt case against him, applauded the decision to withdraw from the excise case. “Truth has won, Gandhiji’s satyagraha has won,” Kejriwal said in his first reaction on social media platform X.