Kejriwal Liquor Case Shifted to New Bench

• Delhi High Court transfers excise policy case to another bench
• Justice Sharma initiates contempt proceedings against AAP leaders
• Judge says online campaign targeted judiciary and her family
• Kejriwal had alleged bias and sought judge’s recusal

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 15th May: AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s liquor policy case will now be heard by another bench of the Delhi High Court after Justice Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday said judicial discipline required the matter to be transferred following initiation of contempt proceedings against top AAP leaders.

Clarifying her decision, Justice Sharma said the transfer should not be interpreted as acceptance of Kejriwal’s plea seeking her recusal from hearing the matter.

“This is not recusal. This is judicial discipline,” the judge observed, adding that “for a judge who is being targeted, it is a very lonely battle.”

Justice Sharma recently initiated contempt proceedings against Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bhardwaj over alleged circulation of “extremely vilifying, contemptuous and defamatory material” online targeting the judiciary.

The judge alleged that a “parallel narrative” was being created through digital campaigns by individuals “armed with political powers” to intimidate the court and the judicial institution.

“My family members were dragged and vilified with edited videos… It was to intimidate not only me but the institution of the judiciary,” Justice Sharma remarked during the proceedings.

Kejriwal, one of the main accused in the excise policy case, had earlier sought Justice Sharma’s recusal alleging bias. He cited her alleged participation in events linked to the RSS and pointed to previous court orders denying bail which were later overturned by the Supreme Court.

AAP leaders had also raised concerns over the empanelment of the judge’s children with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

However, Justice Sharma had rejected the recusal plea earlier this month, stating there was no material to substantiate allegations of bias.

“If I recused myself today, I would be abandoning my duty,” the judge had said during earlier proceedings.

Kejriwal had also announced that he would no longer appear before Justice Sharma in the liquor policy matter, saying in a social media post that his “hope of receiving justice” from the judge had been shattered.

Responding to the criticism on Thursday, Justice Sharma said judges are trained to accept fair criticism and dissent, but added that courts cannot be governed by intimidation or public campaigns.

“When the institution is put on trial, it becomes the duty of the judge to ensure that the court is not governed by such allegations,” she said.

The excise policy case pertains to alleged irregularities and corruption in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy and is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.