The appointment of senior lawyers as amicus curiae to represent former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Durgesh Pathak in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) appeal against their discharge in the tax policy case was postponed again on Monday, as Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma did not convene court for the second time in a week.
Following Justice Sharma’s refusal on April 20 to recuse herself from hearing the CBI’s appeal, and the court’s decision to begin hearing the matter on its merits from April 29, Kejriwal wrote to the judge on April 27 informing her of his decision to boycott the proceedings.
In his letter, the AAP regulator said that following the April 20 ruling, he carefully considered his options and said his “well-founded concerns” remained unresolved, and the ruling left him with the impression that his legitimate concerns had been viewed as a personal attack on the judge and an “assault” on the institution itself. Thereafter, Sisodia and later Pathak also wrote similar letters conveying the same decision.
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On April 29, Justice Sharma, despite receiving the letters, gave them one last opportunity to file their replies and listed the matter for hearing on May 4 to submit arguments on behalf of the CBI. This was after she noted that the full lower court record, including the latest orders issued by the court after the February 27 order, had not yet been received.
However, the judge did not hold the court session on May 4.
The next day, on May 5, it stated that an order appointing amicus curiae to represent Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak would be passed on May 8.
But on May 8, the appointment was postponed because the court was still waiting for the approval of some individuals proposed to serve as amicus curiae. Justice Sharma then indicated that the order would be issued on May 11 and hearings on the merits of the case would begin on May 12.
However, since the judge did not convene the court on May 11 as well, the matter regarding the appointment of amicus curiae was postponed to Tuesday.
The entire controversy related to the appointment arose in the wake of the lower court’s February 27 order removing Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others, holding that the CBI materials did not even disclose a prima facie case, prompting the agency to challenge the order in the Supreme Court.
