YESTERDAY, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma read out an order initiating criminal contempt proceedings under Section 2(c) of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, against Arvind Kejriwal and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, for allegedly making defamatory and vilifying allegations against her on social media.
“A judicial order passed by this court displeased a politically influential accused. While the course legally open to him to take the matter to the Supreme Court was not taken by him. Instead, he carried the dispute to social media platforms where truth becomes secondary and amplification and intimidation to orchestrated narrative devoid of truth was clothed as democratic right to free speech,” she said. She also noted that portions of her lecture delivered at a law college were selectively edited and circulated online.
Consequently, the Court directed that the excise policy case be listed before the Chief Justice for assignment to an appropriate bench. Justice Sharma made it explicitly clear that this administrative transfer was not an acceptance of the recusal application, which remains rejected. She stated, “I stand by my recusal order... I would not change even a single word of what I said then,” adding that her decision reflects “judicial discipline... even if you do anything, I will still be fair to you. I am not hearing [the case] because I have drawn your contempt.”
