Delhi High Court judge Justice Suwarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday said she would not hear the CBI’s appeal against the lower court’s order removing former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others in a tax policy case, after initiating contempt proceedings against Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj over defamatory and contemptuous social media posts against her.
The judge noted that the law does not permit a judge who has initiated contempt proceedings in relation to a matter to continue hearing that same matter.
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“I repeat that I am in favor of the disqualification order. I am not changing the word. I had to defend this institution and I have done that. This case will be heard by any other bench and I will file a contempt case because under the law, a judge who handles contempt proceedings cannot hear the main case. The disqualification remains the same,” Justice Sharma said.
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Justice Sharma also alleged that Kejriwal “organized a smear campaign” on social media against her order. Justice Sharma said that after she issued the recusal order, the AAP leader posted a message on social media platform X at 10 am, announcing his decision to boycott the court proceedings. Subsequently, several members, spokespersons and office bearers of AAP also shared the message and video, she said.
“The tone, content and style were not the subject of fair criticism. They ran a campaign, and the social media campaigns questioned the integrity, impartiality, ideological alignment and statements of this court,” the Supreme Court judge said. Justice Sharma said this was “an attempt to diminish the authority of this court”.
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The judge disqualified several social media posts by the proposed contemporaries that attributed her “political allegiance” and allegedly targeted her by publishing a misleading “edited” video of a speech she had delivered at an educational institution in Varanasi.
“Arvind Kejriwal sought to destroy my reputation rather than avail myself of legal remedies after I refused to step down and a deliberate attempt to diminish the authority of the court cannot be allowed under the guise of freedom of expression,” Justice Sharma said.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, thanked Justice Sharma for upholding the dignity of the institution.
