Last Updated:
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal questioned if he will get justice if the judge presiding over his case has attended events belonging to a certain ideology that is opposed to his own
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is arguing the recusal application when it comes up for hearing. (Image: PTI/File)
Pointing out that Delhi High Court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma attended Adhivakta Parishad events linked to the BJP and RSS, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday explained through a Supreme Court observation that “in a functional democracy, perception matters”.
Kejriwal said if the Delhi excise policy case is political, questioning if he will get justice if the judge presiding over the matter has attended a certain event belonging to a certain ideology that is opposed to his own.
“You attended a few events of Adhivakta Parishad. This case is a political case; in fact, the SC in its observation has said ‘in a functional democracy, perception matters’; the CBI was called a caged parrot and it’s important the agency dispels that,” Kejriwal said while seeking the recusal of Justice Sharma from hearing a CBI petition against the trial court decision to discharge him and others in the liquor policy case.
He said the Supreme Court has itself pronounced the CBI to be a victim of political bias. He told Justice Sharma that if they have attended such events, they may be sympathetic to a certain ideology.
“The impression created in my mind is if you have gone to an event of a particular ideology, if I am from the opposite ideology, will I get justice?” he asked.
Kejriwal said the AAP openly opposes the ideology promoted by the Adhivakta Parishad, which has made him apprehensive of whether justice will be served in the matter.
“This court has attended events of the Adhivakta Parishad, which is aligned with an ideology; his party openly opposes that ideology and it has created apprehension if he will get justice since this court attended the events,” he said.
In another big charge against Justice Sharma, the former Delhi chief minister said this court only endorses what the CBI and ED ask for. He said the high court had stayed the trial court’s observations against the ED even though the agency was not a party to the matter.
“The HC stayed the order on a simple oral statement for solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the CBI,” he said.
He argued that the court was “very generous” to the ED, since without a prayer made by them it passed the order. He said even in AAP leader Manish Sisodia’s case, he was called corrupt by the HC that was later set aside by the SC.
“Three orders by this court were set aside by the SC. The prosecution’s case has been rejected by trial court but was accepted by this court. It was pronounced that he committed money laundering. I was almost declared guilty, I was almost declared corrupt…bas sazaa sunani baaki thi (all that was left was the punishment). Ek matter utha tha ki ED, CBI ne itni raid kari but koi recovery nahin hui (ED, CBI conducted so many raids but ended up without any recovery),” he added.
April 13, 2026, 16:29 IST
Read More
