New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court challenging the decision of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice declining his request to transfer the hearing of the CBI’s plea in the Delhi excise policy case from the Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

In a writ petition filed before the apex court, Kejriwal assailed the communication from the Delhi High Court’s Registrar General, which stated that Chief Justice (CJ) Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya — the master of the roster — had found no reason to reassign the matter to another Bench.

According to the petition, the Chief Justice declined the request on the ground that the case had been allocated to Justice Sharma in accordance with the existing roster, and there was no reason to transfer it by passing an order on the administrative side.

Kejriwal has contended that the refusal to transfer the matter raises a “grave, bona fide and reasonable apprehension” that the case may not receive a hearing marked by impartiality and neutrality.

He also referred to earlier orders in the excise policy cases where bail was denied to several accused by Justice Sharma but later granted by the Supreme Court.

Separately, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has also filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the observations made by Justice Sharma while hearing the revision plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Meanwhile, sources said the matters are likely to be mentioned before the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking an urgent hearing.

Last week, a single-judge Bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi HC stayed the trial court’s direction ordering departmental action against a CBI officer who had investigated the case, and said that the remarks made against the investigating agency and the officer would remain stayed.

It had issued notice to Kejriwal, Sisodia and other respondents on the CBI’s plea assailing the trial court’s refusal to frame charges against the accused.

The agency’s criminal revision petition questioned the order of the Rouse Avenue Court discharging all 23 accused, including Kejriwal and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the corruption case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy introduced by the then AAP-led Delhi government.

The trial court held that the material on record did not establish the alleged overarching conspiracy behind the formulation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22, which was subsequently scrapped amid allegations of corruption and kickbacks.

–IANS

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