The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (May 19) issued notices to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and five other party leaders in a suo motu criminal contempt case linked to alleged social media attacks on the judiciary in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
A division bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja directed the accused leaders to respond to the allegations within four weeks.
The contempt proceedings were initiated last week by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in a detailed 68-page order passed on May 14.
Who all have been issued notices?
Apart from Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, notices were also issued to former AAP MLAs Durgesh Pathak and Vinay Mishra, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj and Devesh Vishwakarma, who is allegedly linked to the party’s social media operations.
The bench also instructed the court registry to preserve all relevant social media posts, electronic publications and digital records related to the alleged contempt.
According to Indian Express, the High Court may also appoint an amicus curiae to assist in the matter.
What triggered the contempt proceedings?
The controversy stems from social media posts allegedly targeting Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma after she refused to recuse herself from hearing pleas filed by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case.
Justice Sharma later transferred the CBI and ED matters from her court but clarified that the transfer should not be interpreted as a response to demands for her recusal.
In her order, Justice Sharma accused the AAP leaders of running a “calculated campaign of vilification” against both the judiciary and her personally. The judge observed that the alleged campaign aimed to undermine public trust in judicial institutions.
“It was psychological coercion,” the court remarked while referring to the alleged online campaign.
Excise policy case remains before High Court
The contempt case is linked to ongoing proceedings related to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. The CBI has challenged a trial court order that discharged 23 accused in the case earlier this year, while the ED has sought removal of certain adverse observations made against the agency by the trial court. Both matters remain pending before the Delhi High Court.
AAP leaders had objected to judge hearing case
In April, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak had declined legal representation before Justice Sharma’s court after their request seeking her recusal was rejected.
The leaders had publicly raised concerns over the judge’s alleged association with the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad and claimed there could be a perceived conflict of interest because some of her family members were empanelled with the Union government.
They had also pointed to the appearance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the CBI in the excise policy matter while alleging apprehensions of bias. The High Court is scheduled to hear the contempt matter next on August 4.