Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has asked Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to recuse from hearing the CBI’s appeal in the Excise Policy case. Kejriwal is likely to appear in court personally as the recusal plea is set to be heard tomorrow.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has moved an application before the Delhi High Court seeking recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma from hearing the appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Excise Policy case, in which Kejriwal and others were discharged.
As per the case developments, the application filed by Kejriwal is expected to be taken up for consideration by Justice Sharma tomorrow. The matter has gained attention as Kejriwal is also likely to appear before the High Court and argue the matter in person, which is a significant development in the ongoing Excise Policy case proceedings.
Earlier, Kejriwal had approached the Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya with a request to assign the case to a different judge instead of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
However, the Chief Justice refused to transfer the case and clarified that the case had already been assigned as per the court roster system. The Chief Justice also made it clear that the recusal decision can only be taken by the judge who is hearing the case and not on the administrative side.
While rejecting the request to transfer the case, the Chief Justice stated,
“The petition is assigned to the Hon’ble judge as per the current roster. Any call of recusal has to be taken by the Hon’ble judge. I, however, do not find any reason to transfer the petition by passing an order on the administrative side,”
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This development is important because a recusal request means that a party in the case is requesting the judge to step aside from hearing the matter, usually on the ground of apprehension of bias or conflict of interest. However, the final decision whether to recuse or not always lies with the judge concerned.
The Excise Policy case has been one of the most high-profile cases in recent times involving senior political leaders and allegations of irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy.
The CBI had filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court challenging the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and other accused persons in the case. Now, before the appeal is heard in detail, the issue of recusal has come up and the Court will first decide whether Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma will continue to hear the case or step aside.
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If Justice Sharma decides to recuse, the case will be assigned to another judge by the Chief Justice. If the recusal request is rejected, then Justice Sharma will continue to hear the CBI’s appeal on merits.
The matter is expected to be heard tomorrow, and since Arvind Kejriwal may appear and argue in person, the hearing is likely to be closely watched from both legal and political perspectives. The High Court’s decision on the recusal application will play an important role in deciding the future course of the Excise Policy case proceedings.
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