Today, On 19th May, The Delhi High Court asked the CBI to inform Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak about the excise policy case being transferred from Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to Justice Manoj Jain. The Court repeated its detailed remarks.
The Delhi High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to inform Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak about the excise policy case being moved from Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to Justice Manoj Jain.
When the matter was taken up for hearing before Justice Manoj Jain Today, the judge observed that multiple parties were not represented.
The Court noted that, as the case is widely reported in the media, it assumed that everyone was already aware of the transfer to the current Bench.
Justice Jain further stated that after Kejriwal and the others appear, the Court would determine whether they are satisfied with the allocation of the case to his Bench.
The Court remarked,
“We understand that the case has been received on transfer. The matter is already in the newspaper, so we assume that they are in knowledge that the matter is before this court now. We will not shy away from sending them a notice that the matter is now before this court, and if they want to appear they can. Once they appear, we do not know if they are okay with the present allocation or not. We will ask the prosecution to inform them about the allocation,”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the CBI and told the Court that steps would be taken to serve Kejriwal and the other respondents.
The Court has since listed the matter for further proceedings on Monday. It also indicated that once all respondents are represented, it will frame a hearing schedule.
The case has been assigned to Justice Jain after Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma who was previously hearing it ordered that it be transferred to another Bench due to the contempt proceedings she had initiated against Kejriwal, Sisodia, and other AAP leaders.
Earlier, Kejriwal, Sisodia, and Pathak had sought Justice Sharma’s recusal. However, Justice Sharma rejected their request on April 20.
Earlier, Arvind Kejriwal, National Convenor of the AAP, has written to Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma stating that he will not appear before her, either in person or through his lawyers.
Arvind Kejriwal, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, said he will not appear before Delhi High Court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who is hearing a plea challenging his acquittal in the excise policy case.
In a letter to the judge, Kejriwal said he has lost faith in her ability to deliver justice. His letter comes days after Justice Sharma rejected a recusal plea filed by Kejriwal in the matter.
Kejriwal accused the judge of having a conflict of interest, alleging that Justice Sharma’s children who work as panel lawyers for the central government have professional links with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is appearing against him in the case.
The matter originates from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appeal against a trial court order that had earlier acquitted Kejriwal and several other accused in the excise policy case.
The High Court issued notice on the CBI’s petition and indicated that some observations made by the lower court appeared, at least at first sight, to be flawed leading to renewed legal proceedings.
However, Kejriwal has consistently argued that the case is politically driven and has repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of the process.
Earlier, Arvind Kejriwal has filed an application before the Delhi High Court seeking the recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. Through this application, Kejriwal has requested that Justice Sharma should not hear the case.
Additionally, Kejriwal’s this move comes a few days after Justice Sharma refused to step aside from the Delhi excise policy matter, dismissing the AAP leader’s allegations of bias and conflict of interest.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who is hearing matters connected to the excise policy case, decided to recuse herself from further proceedings involving the case.
She noted that since Kejriwal and Sisodia are accused in the same matter, continuing to hear it could lead to perceptions of bias or personal grievance.
Justice Sharma was hearing the plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which challenges a trial court order that discharged all 23 accused in the excise policy case, including Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and others.
Previously, On February 27, the trial court acquitted all 23 accused persons in the case, including prominent political leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and K Kavitha.
The court also strongly criticised the CBI’s investigation.
It may be noted that the matter took on a political dimension, particularly because Kejriwal was arrested and sent to judicial custody during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He was later granted bail by the Supreme Court after 156 days in custody.
Similarly, Manish Sisodia spent 530 days in jail in connection with the case.
The CBI’s revision against the trial court’s order was heard by Justice Sharma, who on March 9 made a prima facie observation that the trial court’s remarks were erroneous.
Click Here to Read More On Arvind Kejriwal