Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Bansuri Swaraj on Tuesday mounted a fresh attack on former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over his plea to seek a judge’s recusal, saying it was an attempt to intimidate the judiciary.
“Arvind Kejriwal is a bully. You tried to pressurise a female member of the judiciary of this country. Rejecting his politics of creating pressure on the judiciary, Delhi HC dismissed his plea for transfer (of the case).” Swaraj told reporters on Tuesday.
The Lok Sabha MP said the entire episode established that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was “a drama company and Arvind Kejriwal is the director of this company.”
On Monday, justice Swarana Kanta Sharma dismissed applications filed by former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader Manish Sisodia and others seeking her recusal from hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) appeal against a trial court order discharging them in the Delhi excise policy case. Justice Sharma underlined that a mere apprehension of not receiving relief cannot justify recusal, and there was no “demonstrable cause” for recusal.
Kejriwal, AAP leader Manish Sisodia and others were discharged by a trial court on February 27 in Delhi excise policy case. The court said that the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) material did not disclose a prima facie case, prompting the agency to challenge the order before the high court.
On March 9, Justice Sharma stayed the trial court’s order, calling the remarks prima facie misconceived.
On March 11, Kejriwal moved for transfer of case to another judge, which was rejected on March 13. He, along with Sisodia and four others, then filed an application before the judge’s court seeking her recusal.
In her verdict, the judge rejected Kejriwal’s apprehension of bias based on her attendance at events organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad (ABAP), which he had alleged followed an ideology opposed to the AAP.