Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and other accused in the excise policy case have filed a written representation before Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya of the Delhi high court seeking transfer of a criminal revision petition linked to the case from the bench of Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma to an “impartial” bench, the party said in a statement on Wednesday, according to news agency PTI.In the representation dated March 11, Kejriwal requested the Chief Justice, in his capacity as the “Master of the Roster”, to administratively transfer the case to maintain public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of judicial proceedings. He and other accused alleged “bias” against Justice Sharma and urged that the matter be assigned to an “impartial” bench of the high court.
The representation raises concerns about developments during the first hearing of the revision petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the discharge of accused persons in the alleged excise policy case. It states that at the initial hearing on March 9, the court issued notices and recorded a prima facie view that the trial court’s detailed discharge order was “erroneous”, even though the discharged accused had not yet been heard.The plea notes that interim directions were also granted affecting proceedings under the Enforcement Directorate (ED), despite the agency not being a party to the petition. The representation argues that linking the ED case to the revision petition without hearing the discharged accused or any request to that effect has strengthened apprehensions regarding judicial approach, news agency ANI reported.Another concern highlighted is the short time allowed for filing replies. Despite voluminous records and multiple charge sheets, the court granted only one week for responses, which the representation claims is unusually brief. It also refers to prior orders by the same bench in excise policy cases, noting detailed prima facie observations on issues central to the present petition.The former Delhi chief minister and 22 other accused were recently discharged by a CBI court in the excise policy case.On Monday, the Delhi high court sought responses from Kejriwal and the other accused on a petition filed by the CBI challenging their discharge by the trial court.Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma issued notices to all the accused and listed the matter for hearing on March 16. The judge also stayed the observations made by the trial court against CBI officials involved in the case.
