The Delhi High Court on Tuesday recorded the appearance of AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other party leaders in suo motu criminal contempt proceedings arising from allegations of a concerted social media campaign against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja noted the appearance of Kejriwal, Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Vinay Mishra and Saurabh Bharadwaj, who have been arrayed as respondents in the contempt proceedings.
Senior Advocate Vikram Chaudhary, appearing for Kejriwal, submitted that the respondents had not yet been furnished with the material forming the basis of the contempt reference. Other respondents raised a similar grievance.
Taking note of the submission, the Bench directed the Registry to provide the respondents, in digital form, the material collated pursuant to the Court’s May 19, 2026 order and relied upon for initiating the contempt proceedings.
The Court was also informed that AAP leader Devesh Vishwakarma, arrayed as Respondent No. 5, had not been served. The Bench consequently ordered issuance of fresh notice through the concerned Station House Officer.
The SHO was directed to ascertain Vishwakarma’s current residential address if he was not available at the address on record and thereafter effect service. The material relied upon in the contempt proceedings is also required to accompany the notice.
The proceedings stem from social media posts and videos allegedly circulated by Kejriwal and the other respondents in connection with proceedings concerning Justice Sharma’s recusal from hearing a matter arising out of the Delhi excise policy case.
Justice Sharma had earlier been hearing the CBI’s challenge to the discharge of the accused in the case. She had rejected applications seeking her recusal before subsequently transferring the matter to another Bench after initiating contempt proceedings against Kejriwal, Sisodia, Pathak, Singh, Vishwakarma, Mishra and Bharadwaj.
The contempt reference alleges that the respondents participated in a “concerted and orchestrated campaign” on X, formerly Twitter, and circulated or amplified material containing serious and allegedly unfounded allegations against Justice Sharma during the recusal proceedings.
The Court was simultaneously dealing with a separate contempt petition filed by Ashok Chaitanya against Kejriwal, Bharadwaj, AAP leader Gopal Rai and journalist Saurav Das.
In that matter, the Bench noted that all respondents had entered appearance and permitted them to file their respective replies. Chaitanya was directed to place on record the material relied upon by him, accompanied by an affidavit, within one week and furnish copies to the respondents.
The respondents in both contempt proceedings have been granted four weeks to file their replies. The matters have been listed for further consideration on September 21.
The controversy is linked to the judicial proceedings arising from the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case. On February 27, a trial court discharged all 23 accused in the case, including Kejriwal, Sisodia and BRS leader K Kavitha, while making critical observations concerning the CBI’s investigation.
The CBI subsequently challenged the discharge order before the High Court. Justice Sharma, while hearing the revision proceedings, had prima facie indicated on March 9 that certain observations made by the trial court were erroneous.
The proceedings have assumed significance against the backdrop of the earlier criminal prosecution of Kejriwal and Sisodia in the excise policy case. Kejriwal was arrested in 2024 and remained in custody for 156 days before obtaining bail from the Supreme Court, while Sisodia spent approximately 530 days in custody.
The latest proceedings before the High Court concern the alleged conduct of the respondents in relation to the judiciary and do not constitute a determination of their guilt for criminal contempt at this stage. The respondents will have an opportunity to answer the allegations after receiving the material relied upon by the Court.
Case Titles: Court on Its Own Motion v. Arvind Kejriwal & Ors. and Ashok Chaitanya v. Arvind Kejriwal & Ors.
Cont. Cas. (Crl.) Nos. 7/2026 and 8/2026
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