A double bench of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and other leaders in a suo motu contempt petition filed by the court. These leaders are accused of making allegedly “defamatory and derogatory” comments against Justice Swaran Kanta Sharma.
A double bench of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and other leaders in a suo motu contempt petition filed by the court. These leaders are accused of allegedly making “defamatory and derogatory” comments against Justice Swaran Kanta Sharma.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja stated that the proceedings were initiated based on a May 14 order in which Justice Swaran Kanta Sharma’s court held that these leaders had insulted the court through social media posts. The court stated that Justice Sharma’s single bench has taken cognizance of social media posts, electronic records, and published material. The registry has been directed to preserve copies of all these records and present them before the court.
Amicus Curiae to be Appointed
According to a report published in Bar & Bench, the bench issued notices to the alleged contemnors and directed them to file their replies within four weeks. The court also stated that an amicus curiae will be appointed to assist it in the matter. The next hearing will now be held on August 4th. No lawyer appeared on behalf of the accused.
Kejriwal and other AAP leaders boycott Justice Sharma’s court
Indeed, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak had previously requested Justice Swaran Kanta Sharma to recuse themselves from hearing the excise policy case. However, on April 20th, Justice Sharma rejected their request to transfer the case to another bench. In his order, Justice Sharma stated that no politician can be allowed to create an atmosphere of distrust against the judiciary. The court also stated that demanding the judge’s removal from the case amounts to putting the judiciary in the dock.
What the High Court Said Today
According to the court, several posts against Justice Sharma were posted on social media before and after his order, prompting the court to initiate contempt proceedings. In his detailed order, Justice Sharma also cited letters written by Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak, in which they called for a boycott of court proceedings. He also mentioned the video released by Kejriwal, in which he explained the reasons for not appearing in Justice Sharma’s court.