Appointment of amicus for Kejriwal, Sisodia deferred again

The appointment of amicus curiae for Kejriwal and others in the CBI appeal was delayed again, with hearings now set to begin on May 12.

The appointment amicus curiae to represent former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and AAP leader Durgesh Pathak in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s appeal against their discharge in the excise policy case was delayed once again on Monday, as Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma did not hold court for the second time in a week.

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Following Justice Sharma’s refusal on April 20 to recuse herself from hearing the CBI’s appeal, and the court’s decision to begin hearing the matter on its merits from April 29, Kejriwal wrote to the judge on April 27 informing her of his decision to boycott the proceedings.

In his letter, the AAP chief had stated that after the April 20 verdict, he had carefully reflected on the options available to him and said that his “well-grounded apprehensions” remained unresolved and the judgment left him with the impression that his legitimate concerns had been perceived as a personal attack on the judge and an “assault” on the institution itself. Following this, Sisodia, and subsequently Pathak, also wrote similar letters conveying the same decision.

On April 29, Justice Sharma, despite receiving letters, granted them a final opportunity to file their responses and listed the matter for hearing on May 4 for arguments on CBI’s behalf. This was after she noted that the complete trial court record, including the latest orders passed by the trial court after the February 27 order, had not yet been received.

However, the judge did not hold court on May 4.

The following day, on May 5, she stated that an order appointing amicus curiae to represent Kejriwal, Sisodia, and Pathak would be passed on May 8.

On May 8, however, the appointment was deferred as the court was still awaiting consent from certain individuals proposed to act as amicus curiae. Justice Sharma then indicated that the order would be passed on May 11 and that hearings on the merits of the case would begin from May 12.

However, as the judge did not hold court on May 11 either, the matter relating to the appointment of amicus curiae has now been adjourned to Tuesday.

The entire controversy relating to the appointment has arisen following the trial court’s February 27 order discharging Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others, holding that the CBI’s material did not even disclose a prima facie case, which prompted the agency to challenge the order before the high court.

On the first day of hearing CBI’s appeal, Justice Sharma on March 9 stayed the trial court’s direction for departmental action against a CBI officer, calling the remarks prima facie misconceived, and deferred the proceedings initiated by the ED with regard to the Delhi excise policy.

On March 11, Kejriwal sought transfer of the case to another judge before chief justice DK Upadhyaya, which was rejected on March 13. He, along with Sisodia and four others, then moved an application before the justice Sharma seeking her recusal, in which Kejriwal appeared in person to argue his application.

On April 20, the judge dismissed the applications, holding there was no “demonstrable cause” for recusal and warning that stepping aside on perceived bias would set a disturbing precedent.