NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday granted time to Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and others to respond to a CBI plea challenging their discharge in a corruption case related to the alleged liquor policy scam.
At the beginning of the hearing, Justice Sharma asked if the respondents were seeking time to file replies. To this, the counsel appearing for Kejriwal informed the judge that he has filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s order to stay the trial court’s remarks against the CBI official. The counsel then requested time.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI, meanwhile, told the court, “They (accused) make allegations and run away. Such litigants can’t be encouraged.”
The judge, however, adjourned the matter for April 6, saying that the replies must be filed by then. Kejriwal has reportedly also filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of the case before the High Court to another judge.
The petition was filed before the SC after the Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya denied Kejriwal’s request to transfer the case from Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to another bench.
“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 had, on Wednesday, written to Chief Justice Upadhyaya urging the transfer of the excise case from Justice Sharma to any other bench, saying that “not even once did the bench concerned give relief to any accused person”.