Kejriwal withdraws from excise case proceedings before Delhi HC judge

Former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal withdraws from excise policy case proceedings before Delhi High Court judge, citing lack of confidence in impartial adjudication

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has informed the Delhi High Court that he and his legal team will step back from further participation in proceedings related to the excise policy case pending before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

 

Justice Sharma is currently hearing an appeal filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation challenging the discharge of Kejriwal and other accused in the corruption matter.

 

In a communication addressed to the judge, Kejriwal stated that he no longer retains confidence in the court’s ability to ensure impartial adjudication and, on that basis, would withdraw from the proceedings before her.

 

 

The development follows Justice Sharma's refusal to recuse from the case.

 

While dismissing the recusal plea, Justice Sharma had observed that a political figure cannot be permitted to generate distrust in judicial processes and described the application as effectively placing the judiciary under scrutiny.   

 

In his letter, Kejriwal invoked the idea of satyagraha associated with Mahatma Gandhi, acknowledging that his stance could harm his own legal position.

 

"I am prepared to bear those consequences. That is the burden which every conscientious act of Gandhian satyagraha must bear, and my conscience leaves me no other dignified course. I cannot make peace with my soul by participating in proceedings marked, in my respectful view, by so grave an appearance of conflict, as though all were well. To do so would be a betrayal of my conscience, a disservice to the dignity of the judiciary, and an injustice to the people of India who still believe that courts are the last refuge against the overreach of power," he stated.

 

The letter also points to past instances where members of the judiciary chose to step aside to avoid potential conflicts, citing Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Atul Sreedharan.

 

"For instance, Justice Sujoy Paul sought transfer from the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2024 because his son was practising in the same High Court. Similarly, Justice Atul Sreedharan from the same High Court sought transfer in 2023 because his elder daughter was to begin practice before courts within the same State and the Indore Bench of that High Court," he stated.

 

Kejriwal further asserted that the order declining recusal had deepened his concerns.

 

"A litigant can perhaps live with an adverse order. What is far more difficult to accept is a judgment whose language conveys that the litigant’s plea has been seen as a challenge to the Judge’s dignity, oath, and institutional standing," the letter said.

 

He added that the court’s observations indicate that his apprehensions were interpreted as a personal and institutional affront.

 

"And once that has happened, how do I expect that I would be heard on a wholly clean slate," he said.