The Delhi High Court on Thursday initiated contempt proceedings against certain individuals and respondents in the Delhi Liquor Policy case after allegedly defamatory, contemptuous and highly vilifying material was circulated against its sitting judge, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
The order was passed by the single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, when the Court was about to hear a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), challenging the trial court order discharging all accused persons in the corruption case linked to the alleged Excise Policy scam.
Justice Sharma was scheduled to pass an order appointing three senior advocates as amici curiae to represent former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and AAP leader Durgesh Pathak, who were accused in the case and had chosen to boycott proceedings before her.
Addressing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Justice Sharma noted that while she had intended to appoint amici curiae today, the emergence of ‘extremely defamatory and vilifying’ social media posts targeting her has forced a change in course. She announced her decision to initiate contempt proceedings, stating firmly that she ‘cannot stay silent’ in the face of such attacks.
On February 27, the trial court had discharged all 23 accused persons in the case, including Kejriwal, Sisodia and former Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, while also making strong observations against the CBI’s investigation.
The case drew significant political attention after Kejriwal was arrested during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and remanded to custody. He was later granted bail by the Supreme Court after spending 156 days in custody. Sisodia also remained in custody for over 530 days in connection with the case.
While hearing the CBI’s revision plea against the discharge order on March 9, Justice Sharma had prima facie observed that several findings recorded by the trial court appeared erroneous.
Subsequently, Kejriwal and some other accused, including Sisodia, moved applications seeking Justice Sharma’s recusal on the ground of apprehension of bias. Last week, Justice Sharma dismissed those applications and decided to continue hearing the matter herself.
Following the order, Kejriwal and Sisodia addressed communications to the Court, stating that they would boycott proceedings before Justice Sharma and would neither appear personally nor through legal counsel.
The excise policy in question was introduced by the Delhi government in 2021 with the stated objective of increasing revenue and reforming the liquor trade in the national capital. The policy was later withdrawn following allegations of irregularities and a CBI probe ordered by the then Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena.
According to the ED and the CBI, the policy, which effectively privatised liquor trade in Delhi, was implemented in a manner that conferred undue benefits on private entities at the expense of public revenue.
Sisodia was first arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, and later by the Enforcement Directorate on March 9, 2023. CBI alleged in its FIR that Sisodia and others played a key role in recommending and approving decisions concerning the 2021-22 excise policy without obtaining approval from the competent authority, allegedly with the intention of extending undue favours to certain licensees after the tender process.
The agency further claimed that Sisodia was arrested because he allegedly gave evasive replies and failed to cooperate with the investigation despite being confronted with evidence.
Kejriwal was formally arrested by the CBI on June 26, 2024, while he was already in ED custody in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged liquor policy scam.
The High Court said a detailed order in the matter would be passed later in the day.
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