New Delhi, March 16: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted time to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and other respondents to file their reply in a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation challenging their discharge in the excise policy case.
The matter was heard by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who also recorded that a Special Leave Petition (SLP) and a writ petition have been filed before the Supreme Court of India in relation to the proceedings.
Appearing for the CBI, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that all respondents had already been served in advance and were again served after the issuance of notice by the High Court.
Senior Advocate N. Hariharan, appearing for Kejriwal, informed the court that an SLP had been filed before the Supreme Court. Responding to this, Mehta argued that if the filing of the SLP was being cited as a ground for seeking adjournment, then the objections in the petition should be removed and the matter should be listed before the Supreme Court.
Hariharan, however, said that he was not in charge of the registry of the Supreme Court.
The Solicitor General further submitted that the case did not require a reply or rejoinder, as the High Court only needed to examine the impugned discharge order and the trial court record. He contended that the discharge order was an "exception order" and argued that it should not remain on record any longer than necessary.
However, the Bench directed that the respondents be allowed to file their reply.
Seeking additional time, Hariharan told the court that the impugned order runs into nearly 500 pages and adequate time is required to respond to the allegations raised in the CBI's plea. He also requested the court to record that an SLP challenging the proceedings has already been filed before the Supreme Court, as it may have a bearing on the matter.
Opposing the request for adjournment, Mehta argued that the respondents were "causing prejudice to the system and prejudice to the litigant".
After hearing the parties, the High Court adjourned the matter and listed it for further hearing on April 6.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, and other accused in the Delhi excise policy case have approached the Supreme Court of India seeking transfer of proceedings from the Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court.
According to the legal team of the Aam Aadmi Party, the petitions have been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution raising concerns over certain remarks and observations allegedly made earlier by Justice Sharma while hearing several bail pleas of the accused in the excise policy case.
The plea states that the judge made several prima facie ex parte observations during earlier hearings, which, according to the petitioners, raise apprehensions regarding the fairness of the proceedings.
The petitioners have also pointed to a recent development where, while hearing the CBI's appeal against the trial court order discharging all accused, the judge stayed proceedings before the trial court.
The move before the Supreme Court came after the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, declined Kejriwal's request seeking administrative transfer of the case from Justice Sharma to another bench.
In a communication issued on the administrative side, the Chief Justice said the petition had been assigned to the judge as per the current roster, and there was no ground to order its transfer.
"The petition is assigned to the judge as per the current roster. Any call of recusal has to be taken by the Hon'ble judge. I, however, do not find any reason to transfer the petition by passing an order on the administrative side," the Chief Justice said.
The Delhi excise policy case relates to alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, which is under investigation by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate. Several AAP leaders, including Kejriwal and Sisodia, have been named as accused in the case. (ANI)
