Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak will now participate in proceedings related to the Delhi excise policy case after the matter was transferred to a new bench of the Delhi High Court.
The development comes days after the three leaders had announced a boycott of the proceedings over Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma’s refusal to recuse herself from hearing the matter.
On Monday, the Central Bureau of Investigation informed the court that the three leaders had filed their vakalatnamas, formally authorising legal representation in the case. Court officials confirmed that the documents were submitted on May 25.
Justice Manoj Jain, who is now hearing the matter, observed that a hearing schedule would be framed during the next date of proceedings on July 16.
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Bench change ends weeks-long standoff
According to Hindustan Times, the dispute began after a trial court discharged Kejriwal and several others in the excise policy case, prompting the CBI to challenge the order before the Delhi High Court.
The matter soon escalated into an unusual legal confrontation between the AAP leadership and Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma. Arvind Kejriwal had sought transfer of the case from her bench, but the plea was rejected earlier by Chief Justice D. K. Upadhyaya.
Justice Sharma also declined requests seeking her recusal from the matter. Following this, Kejriwal announced he would boycott proceedings before her court, a stand later joined by Sisodia and Pathak.
The court subsequently appointed senior advocates as amici curiae to represent the leaders after their absence from proceedings.
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Justice Sharma withdrew after contempt proceedings
According to Hindustan Times, the legal battle took another turn when Justice Sharma initiated contempt proceedings over allegedly defamatory and vilifying social media content directed at her. She later recused herself from both the contempt case and the excise policy proceedings, stating that judicial principles did not permit a judge who had initiated a contempt action to continue hearing the same matter.
Before stepping aside, Justice Sharma had strongly criticised attempts to pressure the judiciary, saying the conduct adopted by Arvind Kejriwal amounted to vilification and intimidation.
Following her withdrawal, the case was reassigned to Justice Manoj Jain on May 19.
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Notices issued in contempt case
According to Hindustan Times, a division bench of the Delhi High Court has issued notices in the contempt matter to several senior AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Sanjay Singh, and Vinay Mishra.
The excise policy case continues to remain one of the most politically sensitive investigations involving the Aam Aadmi Party, with both the CBI and Enforcement Directorate probing alleged irregularities linked to Delhi’s now-scrapped liquor policy.
