Delhi High Court Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday said she would initiate contempt proceedings against Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and senior party leaders Sanjay Singh, Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj and others over allegedly defamatory and contemptuous social media posts directed against her and the court in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
Notably, after initiating contempt proceedings, the judge recused herself from further hearing the excise policy case, in which Kejriwal and Sisodia are among the accused. She said the case would be heard by a different bench.
The court, however, stressed that it is not taking back its recusal order, but because Justice Sharma has drawn contempt proceedings, it is appropriate that the matter is transferred to some other judge.
Earlier, the judge observed that "extremely vilifying, extremely contemptuous and defamatory material" was being circulated by some respondents against both her and the court. She observed that Arvind Kejriwal had turned a legal dispute into a public campaign by taking the matter to social media instead of addressing it before the court.
The court also observed that the statements, letters and circulated material by the proposed contemnors indicated that the campaign was not merely directed against an individual judge, but was a coordinated attempt to malign the institution of the judiciary itself.
'Vilification of the entire judiciary'
"The utterances by the contemnors did not merely express disagreement, but they led to only one conclusion that it was a campaign of vilification, not against this sitting judge, but the entire judiciary. Some of the contemnors were armed by political power," the judge said in her ruling.
Justice Sharma had refused to recuse herself from hearing the Delhi excise policy case following Kejriwal's claims that she was biased. The AAP had others and then decided not to attend the hearings.
Following the ruling in the recusal plea, Kerjiwal posted a video on X on April 27, explaining why he decided to boycott the court proceedings, claiming that his hopes to get justice from Justice Sawaran Kanta Sharma were shattered.
Social media content takes centre stage during hearing
"This court came to learn that letters, videos, and social media campaigns were widely circulated. It was a coordinated campaign. While the issue inside the court was dealt with, a parallel narrative outside was being constructed through a digital campaign and insinuation directed at this court," the court observed.
The court said some of the individuals involved carried political influence and public support, placing them in a position to shape and influence public opinion.
The High Court further noted that even members of the judge’s family were intentionally dragged into the controversy in an attempt to humiliate and defame them.
The court clarified that the issue was not limited to a personal attack on one individual but amounted to an effort to undermine the independence and stability of the judiciary.
The court further said that a video of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma's speech at a college event was circulated out of context in a manner that could create a misleading perception against the judiciary among the public.
The High Court also issued contempt notices to AAP MP Sanjay Singh and party leaders Manish Sisodia Vinay Mishra and Saurabh Bharadwaj in connection with the matter.
