Kejriwal seeks recusal of Justice Sharma: Attending Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad event not ideological bias, CBI tells HC

Kejriwal, on April 6, had told HC that he will be arguing the recusal application as party-in-person.

Seeking Justice Sharma’s recusal citing past instances of alleged bias, the six have cited the judge’s “alleged likelihood of ideological association with ABAP”. The ABAP, a lawyers’ body, is considered to be an affiliate of RSS.

The ABAP programmes attended by Justice Sharma included events where topics such as ’75 years of Resurgent Bharat: Changing Contours of Law and Justice’ and ‘Challenges and Opportunities for Women Advocates in the Legal Arena’ were discussed. She had also attended a study circle on Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.

Opposing the recusal applications, the CBI, in its affidavit filed on April 7, has said, “Attending a legal seminar can never be a ground for recusal when the topic of the seminar was not a political one therefore it does not demonstrate any ideological association”. It termed such “unscrupulous and sweeping” aspersions by the six to attribute the judge’s bias, as contemptuous.

Further, the CBI has pointed out that Justice Sharma has in fact extended the benefit of interim bail to Pillai on three occasions. “Passing of both favourable and unfavourable orders to the accused/applicant itself shows that there cannot be any apprehension of bias whatsoever… The fact that a judge has taken a judicial view in certain proceedings does not mean that that Judge cannot hear subsequent cases between same parties,” it added.

The CBI has also countered that the judge has not been hasty with the hearing so far, even granting an interim ex-parte stay on the adverse observations made against the agency’s investigating officer by the trial court.

The CBI has said that there is a Supreme Court-issued mandate to hear MP/MLA cases expeditiously, and all similar matters are being heard in “expeditious manner uniformly”. Citing an example, it has said that in a case concerning former RJD MP Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family hearings, “27 hearings have taken place in the case in less than three months, demonstrating that MP/MLA cases are being heard in an expeditious manner uniformly”.