Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and other AAP leaders over alleged “vilifying” social media posts.
The judge said Kejriwal “orchestrated a calculated campaign” against her after she refused to recuse herself from the excise policy case.
Justice Sharma clarified she was not recusing herself, but transferring the CBI plea to another bench after initiating contempt proceedings.
Delhi HC Judge Launches Contempt Action Against Kejriwal, AAP Leaders
Judge cites ‘vilification campaign’ over posts linked to excise policy case
Summary
AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and others were charged with criminal contempt by Delhi High Court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday for their "vilifying" social media posts against her regarding the excise policy case.
Instead of pursuing his legal remedies, the former chief minister of Delhi "orchestrated a calculated campaign" of defamation against her on social media, according to Justice Sharma, who also noted that the CBI's plea against the release of all accused individuals would now be heard by a different bench.
The judge took exception to several social media posts by the proposed contemnors that attributed "political allegiance" to her and allegedly targeted her by posting a misleading "edited" video of a speech given by her at an educational institution in Varanasi.
"Arvind Kejriwal sought to destroy my reputation instead of availing legal remedies after I refused to recuse and a deliberate attempt to lower the court's authority can't be permitted in guise of free speech," Justice Sharma said.
She clarified that she was not recusing herself but was only transferring the case to another bench, as she had initiated the contempt proceedings.
Speaking on behalf of the CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta praised Justice Sharma for maintaining the institution's honour.
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