Excise case: Justice Sharma takes contempt action against Kejriwal, Sisodia

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma initiated contempt proceedings against AAP leaders over alleged social media attacks linked to the excise policy case

Delhi High Court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday initiated criminal contempt proceedings against AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bhardwaj and others over their "vilifying" social media posts against her in relation to the excise policy case.

Justice Sharma said the former Delhi chief minister "orchestrated a calculated campaign" of vilification against her on social media instead of pursuing his legal remedies and clarified that the CBI's petition against the discharge of all accused persons would now be taken up by another bench.

The judge took exception to several social media posts by the proposed contemnors that attributed "political allegiance" to her and allegedly targeted her by posting a misleading "edited" video of a speech given by her at an educational institution in Varanasi.

 

"Arvind Kejriwal sought to destroy my reputation instead of availing legal remedies after I refused to recuse and a deliberate attempt to lower the court's authority can't be permitted in guise of free speech," Justice Sharma said.

She clarified that she was not recusing herself but was only transferring the case to another bench as she has initiated the contempt proceedings.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI, thanked Justice Sharma for upholding the institution's dignity.