New Delhi : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bhardwaj and others in a criminal contempt case initiated against them. The Bench issued notice to the politicians on the suo motu contempt case initiated against them by Justice Sharma and granted them four-week time to file their response.
The alleged contemnors will file their response within a period of four weeks from the receipt of notice,” the bench stated, as it listed the case for next hearing on August 4. Justice Sharma had on May 14 initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Kejriwal, Sisodia and other AAP leaders over their “vilifying” social media posts against her in relation to the excise policy case.
Justice Sharma had asserted that the former Delhi chief minister “orchestrated a calculated campaign” of vilification against her on social media instead of pursuing his legal remedies. She also noted the wide circulation of clips from the court proceedings in the case, stating that the proposed contemnors were creating a “parallel narrative,”and that “remaining silent” was not judicial restraint but a “surrender before a powerful litigant.”
Later, Kejriwal and some other accused, including Sisodia, filed applications seeking recusal of Justice Sharma on ground of apprehension of bias. Last week, Justice Sharma, dismissed the recusal applications and decided to hear the matter herself. Thereafter, Kejriwal and Sisodia wrote to Justice Sharma stating that they are boycotting the hearing before her and will not appear, either in person or through a counsel.
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