Delhi HC initiates contempt vs AAP leaders over judge posts

The Delhi High Court on Thursday initiated criminal contempt proceedings against Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Vinay Mishra and Saurabh Bharadwaj over social media posts deemed vilifying and defamatory toward Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. The judge, who was hearing a Central Bureau of Investigation challenge to a trial court order discharging the leaders and others in the Delhi excise policy case, subsequently directed that the matter be assigned to another bench.

Justice Sharma stated that the posts, which included a misleading edited video of her speech at an educational institution in Varanasi and allegations of political allegiance, crossed into contempt by attempting to undermine the court's authority. "Arvind Kejriwal sought to destroy my reputation instead of availing legal remedies after I refused to recuse," she said, adding that "a deliberate attempt to lower the court's authority cannot be permitted in the guise of free speech."

The controversy stemmed from the AAP leaders' earlier bids for Justice Sharma's recusal from the excise policy proceedings, citing alleged conflicts of interest linked to her children...