Delhi High Court Issues Contempt Notice to Kejriwal, Sisodia Over Remarks Against Judge

May 19, 2026 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to Aam Aadmi Party leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and others in a suo motu criminal contempt case over alleged defamatory and vilifying remarks against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja directed the alleged contemnors to file their responses within four weeks. The Court observed that the contempt proceedings were initiated on the basis of a May 14 order in which the single judge had relied upon social media posts, electronic records and published material placed on record.

The Bench also directed the Registry to preserve and produce all relevant records before the Court. Since no counsel appeared on behalf of the respondents during the hearing, the Court said that an amicus curiae would be appointed to assist in the matter. The case is scheduled to be heard next on August 4.

The contempt proceedings arose after remarks were allegedly made against Justice Sharma following her refusal to recuse herself from hearing matters involving Kejriwal, Sisodia and AAP leader Durgesh Pathak. On April 20, Justice Sharma had rejected the recusal plea, observing that politicians could not be allowed to undermine public confidence in the judiciary. She had further noted that the recusal application effectively sought to place the judiciary itself on trial.

After the order was passed, several social media posts targeting Justice Sharma allegedly surfaced both before and after the ruling, leading the judge to initiate suo motu criminal contempt proceedings.

In her detailed order, Justice Sharma also referred to letters written by Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak announcing their decision to boycott proceedings before her, along with a video released by Kejriwal explaining the reasons behind the boycott.

Subsequently, Justice Sharma directed that the Excise Policy case involving Kejriwal and Sisodia be transferred to another Bench. The matter will now be heard by Justice Manoj Jain.