Senior Advocates, Academicians Write To CJI Seeking Contempt Action Against Arvind Kejriwal For Allegations Against Delhi HC Judge
The representation made by the concerned prominent citizens highlights the fact that such allegations against a sitting Judge are unprecedented and raise serious concerns.
A letter has been addressed to the Chief Justice of India by a group of Senior Advocates, Vice Chancellors, former police officials, academicians, and members of the Bar raising concern and anguish over recent reports that the former Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has made allegations against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court. The former CM had sought the transfer of the ongoing excise policy case from the said Judge to another court.
The signatories have sought initiation of appropriate suo motu proceedings to examine whether the statements and actions in question amounted to scandalising the court or interfering with the administration of justice.
The representation made by the concerned prominent citizens highlights the fact that such allegations against a sitting Judge are unprecedented and raise serious concerns. As per the representation, “Allegations that undermine the impartiality of a judge, when made without substantive basis, have the potential to erode public confidence in the justice delivery system and amount to interference with the administration of justice.”
“It is a settled principle that a litigant cannot choose the Bench or the Judge before whom their case is to be heard. Further, openly attributing bias or motives to a sitting Judge, without any substantiated basis, strikes at the very foundation of judicial propriety, ethics, and discipline”, the letter read.
The signatories further mentioned, “It is therefore deeply concerning that attempts appear to have been made to publicly question the impartiality and integrity of a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court.”
“The Bar has historically stood as a guardian of the independence of the judiciary. As officers of the Court, we consider it our duty to bring this matter to the attention of this Hon’ble Court”, the letter reads.
The letter also mentioned how the Apex Court has repeatedly emphasised that baseless allegations against judges strike at the very foundation of the justice system. Reference was made to the judgment in Re: Arundhati Roy (2002), where the Apex Court held that scandalising the court by attributing motives to judges amounts to criminal contempt as it undermines public confidence in the judiciary. Further reference was made to Prashant Bhushan Contempt Case (2020), where the Apex Court has reaffirmed that imputing motives to judges and making statements that erode the authority of the judiciary constitute contempt of court.
It is further stated in the representation that permitting such conduct to go unchecked would set a dangerous precedent, enabling litigants to undermine the authority of courts and erode public confidence in the administration of justice.
The representation also calls for serious consideration and appropriate action, including the initiation of suo motu proceedings. The concerned citizens have thus requested the CJI to take cognisance of this matter, initiate appropriate suo motu proceedings and act in accordance with law, to uphold the dignity, independence, and authority of the judiciary.
The signatories concluded the representation by stating, “The strength of our democracy lies in the respect we accord to constitutional institutions, and the judiciary must remain above political contestation or public vilification.”
The representation has been submitted by the Former Vice Chancellor of Nalanda University Prof. Sunaina Singh, Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University Prof. Neerja Gupta, Former Vice Chancellor of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar National Law University Prof. Vinay Kapoor, (Retd. IPS) Former Director General of Police, Jharkhand Nirmal Kaur, Senior Advocate Pinky Anand, Dr Monika Arora, Senior Advocate Kirti Uppal, Advocate Ashok Kumar Kashyap, Senior Advocate Arun Bhardwaj, Advocates Avantika Pandey, Riya, Atulesh Saran Mathur, Dinesh Bhardwaj, Ramanand Gupta, Sanjay Dewan, Anish Dewan, Gaurav Bhardwaj, Amit Acharya, Girdhar Govind.