Delhi High Court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday recused herself from hearing the liquor policy case linked to AAP leaders. This comes after she initiated contempt action against former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and four other AAP leaders.
Justice Sharma clarified that she was not recusing herself but was only transferring the case to another bench as she has initiated the contempt proceedings. Under the law, a judge initiating contempt proceedings cannot continue hearing the main matter.
"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.
The judge also initiated contempt proceedings against Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Durgesh Pathak, Vinay Mishra and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
"Deliberate attempt to lower court's authority can't be permitted in guise of free speech," the judge pointed out.
She claimed that Kejriwal "orchestrated a calculated campaign" to vilify her on social media instead of moving Supreme Court.
“If I continue to hear the case after the contempt proceedings, these parties can say I have a personal grudge against them,” she said.
After Justice Sharma's latest move, Kejriwal took to X, saying, "Truth has triumphed. Gandhi ji's Satyagraha has triumphed once again."
It should be noted that Kejriwal and others had earlier boycotted the hearing before Justice Sharma after she refused to recuse herself on their applications alleging bias and conflict of interest.
After she dismissed their applications seeking her recusal in the case on April 20, Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak wrote a letter to her, stating they would not appear before her personally or through a lawyer and would follow "Mahatma Gandhi's path of Satyagraha".
