New Delhi, 04 May (H.S.): The Delhi High Court will not hear arguments today on the petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the trial‑court order acquitting former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 other accused in the Delhi excise‑policy scam case. The matter, listed before a bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, has been deferred because her court will not sit today.
Fresh hearing postponed
The case is scheduled to be heard before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, but her bench is not functioning on this day, leading to the postponement of the hearing.
Earlier, on April 29, the High Court had directed the trial court to produce the complete record in the matter and sought detailed material related to the discharge order. Justice Sharma had issued a direction through a special messenger requesting the trial court to send the full case file for the High Court’s examination.
During the last hearing, the court observed that some of the 23 accused had filed their written replies to the CBI’s revision plea, while others had not. The bench granted the remaining accused a final opportunity to file their responses, directing them to submit written statements within the stipulated time.
In the excise‑policy case, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak have decided to boycott the High Court proceedings challenging the acquittal. They have informed the court that neither they, nor any counsel appearing on their behalf, will present oral submissions or pleadings during the hearings.
In a joint letter to the High Court, the three leaders have stated that they do not have confidence in Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma presiding over the matter and have declared their intention to observe a form of protest or “satyagraha” against her hearing.
On April 20, the same bench had dismissed Kejriwal’s application seeking the judge’s recusal from the case. The petition claimed that the earlier course of the proceedings and certain remarks had given the former Chief Minister no hope of receiving a fair and impartial hearing.
Justice Sharma rejected the recusal plea, saying she would pass her order without being influenced by the allegations and that she had always delivered judgments in the same manner throughout her 34‑year judicial career. She stated that the judiciary and the court as an institution cannot be put on trial, and that judicial power lies precisely in the firm resolve to decide on the merits of the allegations independently.
The judge also clarified that the order would be issued in Hindi, in line with the practice adopted for this matter because the arguments have been advanced in the same language. While issuing directions, she cited an earlier order in which temporary relief had been granted to Kejriwal and senior leaders of his party at the first date of hearing, underscoring that the court had, on multiple occasions, already indicated a certain pattern in the handling of the case.
In his plea, Kejriwal argued that the trial‑court’s acquittal order had been labelled “prima facie misconceived and erroneous” even before the entire record was produced or the full arguments of the defence were heard. He pointed out that on March 9, when the High Court conducted its first hearing on the CBI’s revision, none of the 23 accused, including him, was present in court, and only the CBI was represented.
Despite the absence of the accused and the lack of detailed pleadings on their behalf, Justice Sharma, in the initial hearing, characterised the Sessions Court’s order as appearing “prima facie incorrect,” leading Kejriwal to question the legal basis for such a remark in the absence of a complete record and oral submissions from the defendants.
With no sitting today, the next date of hearing will be governed by the revised cause‑list schedule of the Delhi High Court, which has already postponed several hearings in this batch of excise‑policy‑related matters.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
