After Kejriwal and Sisodia, AAP’s Durgesh Pathak latest to send letter to Delhi judge
On April 28, the former AAP MLA from Rajinder Nagar wrote to Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma that he has “resolved not to participate further in the present proceedings”
Ahead of the hearing in the Delhi liquor policy case Wednesday, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Durgesh Pathak followed in the footsteps of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in shooting off a letterto Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma saying he, too, will remain unrepresented in the cases being heard by the Delhi High Court judge.
The three leaders are parties in Central Bureau of Investigation’s revision plea, challenging their discharge in the alleged liquor policy scam case that Justice Sharma is hearing. Justice Sharma last week refused to recuse herself from hearing CBI’s plea.
The CBI has challenged the discharge of 23 accused, including Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak, by a trial court in February in the case.
In a letter dated April 28 reportedly sent to Justice Sharma, Pathak referred to Kejriwal’s April 27 letter and said, “I too have resolved not to participate further in the present proceedings, either personally or through legal representation. The vakalatnama, if any, executed in my favour in this matter may be treated as having been duly discharged.”
Kejriwal, Sisodia, Pathak and three other accused in the alleged ‘scam’ had raised apprehensions of bias and made allegations of conflict of interest against Justice Sharma. The judge, however, refused to recuse.
Both Kejriwal and Sisodia, in their letters, reiterated their concern over Justice Sharma’s “public association with the RSS’s legal front, Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad”, and the fact that Justice Sharma’s children are on the Union of India’s advocates’ panels who are assigned cases by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
Kejriwal, in his letter, said, “I have lost hope of getting justice from Justice Swarana Kanta. Therefore, I have decided to follow the path of Satyagraha as shown by Mahatma Gandhi.”
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Sisodia, too, in his letter on April 28, said that “there is no path left except Satyagraha,” while claiming that he does not “expect justice”.
Sisodia further wrote, “My concern too, much like Mr Kejriwal’s, is not born out of hostility to the court. “It is born of a deep unease that if I continue to participate despite these circumstances, I would be acting against my own conscience too while pretending before my fellow countrymen that all doubts stand resolved,” he said in the letter posted on X.
Kejriwal and the other accused have the right to file an appeal against Justice Sharma’s refusal to recuse from the case.
On April 28, Kejriwal, accompanied by Sisodia, visited the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, to emphasise their journey on the path of ‘Satyagraha’.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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