Take down videos of Arvind Kejriwal’s court hearing from social media: Delhi HC orders cops

On Feb 27, the trial court discharged Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others in the excise policy case, holding that the material did not disclose a prima facie case

The Delhi high court has ordered the removal of video recordings of former Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s court appearance from social media platforms, underscoring a breach of rules governing virtual hearings amid ongoing proceedings in the Delhi excise policy case.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal at the Delhi high court. (PTI)

Registrar General Arun Bhardwaj issued the direction on Wednesday, according to a person aware of the development.

The person added that the order applies to all individuals who recorded and uploaded such videos on social media platforms, noting that this violates the Delhi HC’s rules on online hearings — the Electronic Evidence and Video Recording Conference Rules, 2025 — which prohibit the recording and publication of court proceedings. The person added that this is not the first instance of such action; similar steps have been taken in the past.

On February 27, the trial court discharged Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others, holding that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s material did not disclose even a prima facie case. The agency challenged this in the high court, calling the findings “inherently wrong” and claiming they ignored key evidence.

On March 9, justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s bench stayed the trial court’s direction for departmental action against the CBI officer, terming the remarks “prima facie foundationally misconceived”, and deferred ED proceedings pending the appeal.

Following this, Kejriwal wrote to HC chief justice DK Upadhyaya seeking transfer of the appeal from justice Sharma’s bench to another judge, a request that was rejected on March 13.

Subsequently, Kejriwal, along with AAP leader Manish Sisodia and four others, filed an application seeking Justice Sharma’s recusal.

Kejriwal appeared before the court on April 6, when notice was issued, and again on April 13, when he argued his application for over an hour, following which videos of the proceedings went viral on social media platforms, including X.

Even as the court issued its direction, advocate Vaibhav Singh filed a complaint on Wednesday before the registrar general against Kejriwal, other party leaders, and journalist Ravish Kumar, alleging unauthorised recording and circulation of videos of proceedings before justice Sharma’s court. In his complaint, Singh sought a detailed inquiry and action against the AAP leaders, contending that the viral content “smacks of a deep conspiracy” by Kejriwal and others to malign the judiciary’s image.