HC to hear CBI plea against discharge of Kejriwal, Sisodia on May 4

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Wednesday posted for May 4 CBI’s petition challenging the discharge of former CM Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy CM Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the excise policy case.

On a day when former AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak joined Kejriwal and Sisodia in boycotting the hearing before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, the judge granted the AAP functionaries one “last and final opportunity” to file their replies by Saturday.

During the hearing, Justice Sharma said the court was yet to receive the entire trial court record, including the last few orders passed by the trial court, and deferred the hearing on the CBI plea. “We will just call for the record and start hearing from Monday,” Justice Sharma said, directing that the record be summoned by Thursday.

Meanwhile, HC issued fresh summons to Kejriwal in connection with ED’s appeal against his acquittal for not responding to summons during the initial stage of investigation into the liquor policy case. HC also issued notice to CBI on an application by one of the discharged accused seeking vacation of the interim stay order passed by the court on April 9 and listed for May 4 a petition by ED seeking to expunge certain “unwarranted” remarks against it in the trial court’s decision.

On Feb 27, the trial court had discharged Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others in the excise policy case, which, it ruled, was wholly unable to survive judicial scrutiny and stood discredited in its entirety. On March 9, Justice Sharma’s bench stayed the trial court’s recommendation on the initiation of departmental action against CBI’s investigating officer in the case. While issuing notices to all 23 accused on CBI’s plea against their discharge, Justice Sharma said certain observations and findings of the trial court at the stage of framing of charges prima facie appeared erroneous and needed consideration.

Subsequently, Kejriwal, Sisodia and other respondents moved an application seeking recusal of the judge, alleging conflict of interest and an apprehension of bias. They claimed that the judge’s children are empanelled central govt lawyers who receive work through solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appears for CBI in the excise policy case.

On April 20, Justice Sharma had dismissed the application seeking her recusal, saying judges cannot recuse themselves to satisfy a litigant’s unfounded apprehension of bias. Following this, Kejriwal and Sisodia wrote letters stating they would not appear before her personally or through a lawyer, and would follow “Mahatma Gandhi’s path of Satyagraha”.

Pathak, who also wrote to Justice Sharma on Wednesday, said he was “in agreement with the sentiments and apprehensions” expressed by Kejriwal and Sisodia in their letters to the judge, in which they had cited her “repeated public attendance at a lawyers’ organisation publicly understood to belong to RSS” and the “engagement of the judge’s children on multiple Union govt panels and the resulting appearance of closeness to the law officers who appear on the other side”.

Pointing out that he won’t participate in the hearings “either personally or through legal representation”, Pathak said, “The vakalatnama, if any, executed in my favour in this matter may be treated as having been duly discharged.”

In a post on X, he said: “Justice must not only be done, but must also be seen to be done.” Pathak, however, stressed he had “abiding faith in the Constitution and in the institutional integrity of the judiciary of this nation”. The proceedings may now be conducted “in such manner as this court may consider appropriate and just”, he added.
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