Liquor policy ‘scam’: Delhi HC to appoint senior advocates for Kejriwal, Sisodia, Pathak

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made the statement after the three AAP leaders declared they would go without legal representation in the excise policy case before the High Court.

Delhi High Court Arvind KejriwalEarlier, former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leader Manish Sisodia had written to Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma saying that they will not participate in the proceedings before her. (File photo)

After Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal and party leaders Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak declared that they have chosen to go without legal representation in the excise policy case before the Delhi High Court, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma Tuesday said she will appoint “someone senior (advocate) as an amicus (friend of the court)” for the trio.

The declaration by the three leaders had come in April, in three separate letters purportedly sent to Justice Sharma after she refused to recuse herself from hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s plea in the case.

The CBI, in a revision plea before the HC, is challenging the discharge of 23 accused in the liquor policy case — including Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak — by a trial court in February.

In their applications seeking Justice Sharma’s recusal, as well as in their letters, the three men had objected to the judge’s alleged “public association with the RSS’s legal front, Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad”. AAP claimed it is ideologically opposed to it.

The three leaders also expressed that they apprehend bias if Justice Sharma hears the matter, given that her children are on the Union of India’s advocates’ panels who are assigned cases by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

Mehta is also appearing for CBI in the case before Justice Sharma.

On Tuesday, Justice Sharma said she will be passing an order on Friday to appoint senior counsel to assist the court, given that the three have chosen to not appear before the court, either personally, or through appointed counsel.

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She added that once the appointment for amicus curiae is made, she will begin hearing the case.

On April 27, Kejriwal had 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.”

On April 20, Justice Sharma refused to recuse herself from hearing the CBI’s challenge to the discharge of former Delhi CM Kejriwal and 22 others in the alleged liquor policy scam, noting that the recusal applications did not arrive with evidence but rather “with aspersions, insinuations and doubts” cast on her.

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. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

 

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