New Delhi: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court has initiated criminal defamation proceedings against senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Durgesh Pathak.
The proceedings relate to allegedly defamatory and misleading social media posts made against the judge in connection with the excise policy case.
Justice Sharma observed that instead of pursuing legal remedies, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal allegedly launched a “campaign” against her on social media platforms.
The judge strongly objected to posts questioning her integrity and to the circulation of an edited video clip of a speech she had delivered at an educational institution in Varanasi.
‘Freedom of speech cannot be used to undermine courts’
Justice Sharma stated that the attempts were aimed at damaging her reputation after she refused to recuse herself from hearing the matter.
“Attempts to lower the authority of the court under the guise of freedom of expression cannot be permitted,” the judge observed.
She further clarified that she was not voluntarily stepping aside from the case. However, since criminal defamation proceedings have now been initiated, the matter will be heard by another bench.
