Arvind Kejriwal and Swarana Kanta Sharma (IMAGE: X)
ARVIND KEJRIWAL CASE: Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal says he won’t show up before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court, who’s currently hearing a plea challenging his acquittal in the excise policy case. In a letter to the judge, Kejriwal bluntly said he no longer trusts her to deliver justice. This comes just days after Justice Sharma refused Kejriwal’s earlier request to recuse herself from the case.
Kejriwal claims there’s a clear conflict of interest. According to him, Justice Sharma’s children work as panel lawyers for the central government, and they have professional ties to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the very lawyer arguing against Kejriwal in this case.
He spelt it out in his letter: “Following Gandhian principles of Satyagraha, I cannot pursue my case in your court not personally, and not through any lawyer.” He went on, “This wasn’t an easy call, but I’ve reached a point where your court’s proceedings don’t even come close to the basic idea of justice. Justice isn’t just about being fair it’s got to look fair too.”
Kejriwal, who leads the Aam Aadmi Party, said he’s following his conscience. At the same time, he’s not backing down legally. “I reserve my right to approach the Supreme Court to challenge Justice Sharma’s verdict,” he wrote.
Now, looking at why Kejriwal made this call. It happened just after Justice Sharma refused to step away from the Delhi excise policy case, even after Kejriwal accused her of bias and conflict of interest. She didn’t mince words in her order. Justice Sharma made it clear that judges swear to uphold the Constitution, not to bend to pressure or public opinion. “Justice does not yield to any pressure. I’ll decide this case fearlessly. I’m not stepping aside,” she said.
She pointed out that courts assume judges are impartial unless there’s hard proof to suggest otherwise. In her view, Kejriwal didn’t bring any real evidence to back his claims. She also warned about the damage that baseless accusations can do to people’s trust in the courts. “You can’t just keep chipping away at trust like this,” she said. Justice Sharma described the situation as a “Catch-22” no matter what she does, there’s bound to be criticism. Still, she stood her ground, adding that stepping aside without good reason would mean she’s not doing her job.
Kejriwal moved for the judge to be recused on grounds of a “grave, bona fide and reasonable apprehension” of bias. He raised concerns regarding her alleged involvement in events organised by the right-wing RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad and her appointment of her children as government lawyers for the central government.
But the court dismissed these allegations, saying there was no direct link between these and the case. The case follows the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filing a plea against a trial court judgment that had acquitted Kejriwal and others in the excise policy case.
The High Court had given notice on the CBI petition and had found some of the lower court’s findings to be prima facie wrong, leading to a new case. But Kejriwal has consistently argued that the case is politically driven, and has raised concerns about the impartiality of the proceedings.
Justice Sharma’s journey on the bench stretches over thirty years—a long time to watch the law change and courts evolve. She became a permanent judge at the Delhi High Court on March 28, 2022.
She started out at Delhi University, picking up a BA (Honours) in English Literature. Her college, Daulat Ram, named her the best all-round student of her year. After that, she earned her LLB in 1991, followed by an LLM in 2004. She didn’t stop there, she grabbed a diploma in Marketing Management, Advertising, and Public Relations, too. And in 2025, she completed a PhD after four years of digging into her doctoral thesis, “Achieving Constitutional Vision of Justice Through Judicial Education: A Comparative Study of the Best Practices in the UK, USA, Singapore, and Canada.”
Justice Sharma’s walked into the role of magistrate at just 24. Eleven years on, she took on the responsibilities of a sessions judge. Over the years, in the heart of Delhi’s district courts, she ran the show in everything from the Family Court to the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Mahila Court, Special Court for Sexual Offences Against Women, and even served as a Special Judge (CBI). She’s seen just about every shade of justice.
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