The Delhi High Court appointed Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura as Amicus Curiae to help examine alleged contemptuous social media posts targeting Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. The Court directed its Registry to provide her the paperbook for effective assistance.
The Delhi High Court appointed Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura as Amicus Curiae to assist the Court in a contempt matter involving alleged contemptuous social media posts and related electronic material against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
The proceedings arise out of a judgment dated 14 May 2026 delivered by a Single Judge in CRL.REV.P. 134/2026 titled Central Bureau of Investigation vs. Kuldeep Singh and Ors.
The Single Judge’s decision relied on social media posts as well as other electronic and publication records.
In the present matter, a Division Bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja directed the Registry to preserve copies of the material that had been relied upon in the earlier judgment and to place it before the Court for proper consideration.
The Court also issued notice to the alleged contemnors, including political leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Vinay Mishra, Devesh Vishwakarma, and Saurabh Bhardwaj. The notice is returnable on 4 August 2026.
Notably, today, the Court issued notice to AAP leader Gopal Rai and journalist Saurav Das in the contempt petition. The alleged contemnors have been directed to file their responses within four weeks from receipt of the notice. The Court further instructed that a copy of the paperbook be supplied to the Amicus Curiae by the Registry to assist in adjudicating the matter.
The bench ordered,
“We also appoint Ms. Rajdipa Behura, Senior Advocate as Amicus Curiae to assist the Court in this case. A copy of the paperbook be supplied to the learned Amicus Curiae by the Registry of this Court,”
The contempt proceedings stem from alleged defamatory and vilifying remarks made against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who was hearing the CBI’s challenge to the discharge of Kejriwal and other accused in the excise policy case. Justice Sharma is stated to have taken note of the allegations and initiated contempt proceedings against the AAP leaders. She also directed that the excise policy case be transferred to another Bench, considering that Kejriwal and Sisodia are accused in the matter.
The controversy began after Kejriwal, Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak sought Justice Sharma’s recusal from the case. The judge rejected their application on 20 April, observing that a litigant cannot be permitted to undermine judicial authority or sow seeds of mistrust against the institution.
Subsequently, social media posts targeting the judge allegedly surfaced, leading to the contempt proceedings.
Justice Sharma also considered letters written by Kejriwal, Sisodia, and Pathak indicating a boycott of proceedings, along with a video released by Kejriwal explaining the reasons for the boycott.
It is further noted that the CBI petition challenging the discharge of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and other accused in the corruption case connected to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam will also be heard by Justice Manoj Jain on 19 May.