NEW DELHI: The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, has denied a request by Arvind Kejriwal to transfer the excise policy case from the bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to another bench.
The Chief Justice told the politician that the petition had been assigned to the judge as per the current roster.
“Any call of recusal has to be taken by the judge. I, however, do not find any reason to transfer the petition by passing an order on the administrative side,” the Chief Justice said.
Kejriwal on Wednesday wrote to Chief Justice Upadhyaya urging that the excise case be transferred from Justice Sharma to any other bench, stating that “not even once has the concerned bench given relief to any accused person”.
The letter claimed that Justice Sharma had already expressed detailed prima facie views on the case, which are now directly in issue in the CBI’s revision petition challenging the discharge order.
“The undersigned respectfully requests that this criminal revision be placed before a different bench to ensure that the matter is heard and decided with neutrality and to protect public confidence in the administration of justice,” the letter said. The Chief Justice, as the “Master of the Roster”, is vested with the power to constitute benches and allocate matters.
The letter further claimed that the approach earlier adopted by the judge in the case had already been found “legally vulnerable”. The letter added that the request was made “in the interest of justice and to maintain the confidence of litigants and the public in the fairness of the process”.
The politician expressed a “grave, bona fide, and reasonable apprehension” that the matter may not receive a hearing marked by impartiality and neutrality before the current judge.
The letter also claimed that Justice Sharma, “without disclosing any reasons”, at the very first short hearing on March 9, 2026, “not only issued notice but, ex parte and without hearing any of the discharged accused, proceeded to record a prima facie view that the trial court’s detailed order is ‘erroneous’.”
Request was made ‘in the interest of justice’: Letter
Kejriwal wrote to Chief Justice Upadhyaya urging that the excise case be transferred from Justice Sharma to any other bench, stating that “not even once has the concerned bench given relief to any accused person”. The letter further claimed that the approach earlier adopted by the judge in the case had already been found “legally vulnerable”. It added that the request was made “in the interest of justice”.