During the hearing, Justice Sharma said that some senior lawyers have “politely accepted” the court’s recommendation, but in the meantime, she came across the disparaging material.
Kejriwal and MPs have boycotted the hearing before Justice Sharma after the judge refused to withdraw on their applications claiming conflict of interest and capturing bias.
On February 27, the trial court discharged Kejriwal, Sisodia and 21 others in the liquor policy case after ruling that the case was completely incapable of surviving judicial scrutiny and stood discredited in its entirety.
After Justice Sharma rejected their pleas seeking her disqualification in the case on April 20, Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak wrote a letter to her, saying they would not appear before her in person or through a lawyer and would follow “Mahatma Gandhi’s path of Satyagraha”.
On April 5, the court noted that none appeared for AAP leaders in the proceedings and closed their right to file their responses. However, she stated that she would pass an order appointing three senior lawyers to represent them.
Kejriwal, Sisodia and other respondents claimed this The judge’s children are empowered advocates of the central government who get work through advocate general Tushar Mehta, who is appearing for the CBI in the excise case.
On April 20, Justice Sharma dismissed the motion for recusal, saying judges cannot recuse themselves to satisfy a litigant’s unfounded prejudice. Pathak, Vijay Nair and Arun Ramchandra Pillai had also sought her disqualification.
