New Delhi, 16 April (H.S.):
The Delhi High Court accepted a fresh affidavit filed by former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal via video conferencing Thursday, bolstering his plea for Justice Swarnakanta Sharma's recusal from a CBI appeal.
Allegations of Familial Conflict
Kejriwal contends Justice Sharma's two children serve as empanelled counsel under Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represents CBI—the case's appellant. How can she rule against SG Mehta, who assigns cases to her children? the affidavit questions, citing CBI's counsel role.
On April 13, Kejriwal personally argued bias, listing 10 grounds: prejudging guilt sans evidence, halting ED probe unbidden (benefiting CBI), staying sessions court orders favoring accused without hearing, unduly tight deadlines for 600-page responses, and Supreme Court reversals of her bail denials with reprimands.
He decried pre-determined conspiracy labels on CBI probe and unprompted halts on ED actions post-sessions acquittal, eroding fair trial expectations. Kejriwal urged transfer to avert perceived prejudice.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
