The Delhi High Court has appointed Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura as amicus curiae to assist the Court in contempt proceedings arising from remarks and social media content allegedly targeting Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma by several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The appointment was made by the Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja, which is hearing both the suo motu criminal contempt proceedings initiated by the High Court and a connected criminal contempt petition alleging that journalist Saurav Das and several AAP leaders carried out a coordinated campaign targeting Justice Sharma. The two matters have now been tagged for a joint hearing.
The proceedings arise from an order passed by Justice Sharma on May 14, initiating suo motu criminal contempt action against Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak over social media posts and public statements which, according to the Court, contained defamatory allegations and questioned the integrity and impartiality of the judicial process.
The proceedings stem from an order passed by Justice Sharma on May 14, initiating suo motu criminal contempt action against Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak, over what the Court described as defamatory and vilifying allegations circulated on social media platforms.
In her order, Justice Sharma observed that there appeared to be a coordinated campaign involving social media posts, videos and public statements questioning the integrity and impartiality of the Court. She also noted that some of the circulated material allegedly contained edited videos and references to her family members, which, according to the Court, were aimed at eroding public confidence in the judiciary.
The controversy emerged in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case, in which Kejriwal, Sisodia and others were accused. After rejecting their plea seeking her recusal on April 20, Justice Sharma proceeded to initiate contempt proceedings. Subsequently, she transferred the Excise Policy matter to another Bench, observing that her continued hearing of the case could give rise to an apprehension of bias.
On May 19, the Division Bench issued notice to Kejriwal, Sisodia, Singh and others, directing them to file their replies within four weeks.
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