Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday initiated contempt proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal and several other Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Vinay Mishra and Saurabh Bharadwaj, over alleged defamatory and derogatory remarks made against her by the Bar in connection with the social media case.
After the contempt proceedings, Justice Sharma also recused herself from hearing the excise matter, saying that Kejriwal and Sisodia are among the accused in the case.
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Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma recused herself from the excise case as she initiated contempt proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders for allegedly making defamatory remarks on social media. She said further hearing the case could lead to a feeling of resentment.
Contempt proceedings have been initiated against Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders for allegedly making defamatory and derogatory remarks against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on social media. The remarks were made in connection with an excise duty policy case and included a misleading edited video.
The AAP alleged that Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma had links to the RSS and that there was a conflict of interest as both her children work for the central government. They questioned why she did not appeal the excise case unlike other recent cases.
The Delhi Excise Policy case became politically sensitive after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal during the 2024 general elections. The court acquitted all the accused, including Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, but the CBI challenged the decision. The policy itself was introduced to reform the alcohol trade, but was later withdrawn due to allegations of corruption.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has asked the Bar Council of West Bengal for a detailed report on Mamata Banerjee’s legal registration and practice status. This was prompted by her appearance as a lawyer in the Calcutta High Court, with the BCI needing to verify the validity of her license and any suspension during her tenure as chief minister.
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“It might happen that if I keep hearing this case, Arvind Kejriwal and other people might think that I have a grudge against him. Therefore, I thought that this particular case will be heard by some other bench,” the judge ordered, as reported by Bar and Bench.
Justice Sharma said the former Delhi chief minister “orchestrated a calculated campaign” of defamation against her on social media instead of pursuing her legal remedies and clarified that the CBI’s petition against the release of all accused persons will now be taken up by another court, as reported by PTI.
The judge took exception to several social media posts by proposed contemporaries that ascribed “political allegiance” to her and allegedly targeted her by posting a misleading “edited” video of her speaking at an educational institution in Varanasi.
“Arvind Kejriwal tried to destroy my reputation instead of taking legal remedies after I refused to appeal and a deliberate attempt to reduce the authority of the court cannot be allowed under the pretext of freedom of expression,” Justice Sharma said.
She clarified that she is not appealing, but merely transferring the case to another court as she has initiated contempt proceedings. Appearing for the CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta thanked Justice Sharma for upholding the dignity of the institution, PTI reported.
Who is Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma?
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma is a Judge of the Delhi High Court.
Education of Justice Swarana Sharma: According to a profile shared by the Delhi High Court, Sharma completed her BA (Hons.) in English Literature from the University of Delhi.
She received her LL.B. in 1991 and completed her LL.M. in 2004. She also holds a diploma in marketing management, advertising and public relations.
In 2025, after four years of extensive research, she received her doctorate for her doctoral thesis entitled “Achieving a Constitutional Vision of Justice through Judicial Education: A Comparative Study of Best Practices in the UK, USA, Singapore and Canada”.
What does AAP claim?
The AAP has accused Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma of having ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and said there is a conflict of interest as both her children work for the central government.
Earlier in April, the Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, questioned Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma for not refusing to hear the Delhi Consumer Policy case.
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“After being on appeal in several recent cases, why did Justice Swarnakanta Sharma decide not to appeal in this one? How is this case different?” Atishi posted on X.
The controversy started after Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak decided to boycott the court proceedings when Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma refused to recuse herself from allegations of bias.
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In February, a trial court acquitted all 23 accused in the consumer policy case, including Kejriwal, Sisodia and K. Kavitha, while criticizing the Central Bureau of Investigation for its handling of the probe. The CBI later challenged the decision before Justice Sharma, who noted in March that the trial court’s observations appeared questionable.
The case has remained politically sensitive since Kejriwal’s arrest during the 2024 general elections. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India after 156 days in custody, while Sisodia remained in jail for 530 days. Delhi’s excise policy, introduced in 2021 to reform the liquor trade, was eventually withdrawn after allegations of corruption prompted a CBI probe ordered by the lieutenant governor.
(With inputs from PTI, Bar and Bench)
