The Delhi High Court on Wednesday gave “one more last chance” to former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Durgesh Pathak and four others to file their response to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) appeal against the lower court’s order discharging them in the tax policy case.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who had earlier rejected Kejriwal’s request to withdraw from the case, asked them to submit their replies by Saturday.
“Granting one more last chance to file the reply, by Saturday, I will start hearing the matter on Monday,” Justice Sharma said after being informed on Wednesday that only 7 of the 23 respondents were yet to file their response to the CBI petition.
The Supreme Court’s new order comes after Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak stayed away from Wednesday’s proceedings after deciding not to recuse themselves from the case.
On Monday, Kejriwal wrote to the judge to inform him that he would not appear in the case before him because his “well-founded concerns” remained unresolved.
Manish Sisodia sent a similar message on Tuesday, followed by Durgesh Pathak on Wednesday.
Although the court was scheduled to begin hearing the matter based on the merits and the agency’s arguments, the court postponed the proceedings to Monday due to non-receipt of lower court records. The judge also ordered that the records be sent the next day.
The court is hearing the CBI’s appeal against the lower court’s February 27 order releasing Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others in the tax police case, holding that the CBI’s materials did not even disclose a prima facie case.
The CBI appealed the order in the Supreme Court. On March 9, the judge stayed the trial court’s directions for administrative action against a CBI officer, terming the statements prima facie wrong, and adjourned the ED’s proceedings.
On March 11, Kejriwal requested that the case be transferred to another judge, but the request was denied on March 13. He and Sisodia and four others then filed an application with the judge asking her to recuse herself. On April 20, the judge denied the requests, holding that there was “no clear reason” for recusal and that recusal based on perceived bias would set a troubling precedent.
In Wednesday’s hearing, the judge also issued notice on the application filed by Sarvesh Mishra, an alleged associate of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh seeking quashing of the March 9 order, and ordered the CBI to file its reply.
