Delhi High Court Appoints Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura As Amicus Curiae In Justice Sharma Contempt Row
Delhi High Court appointed Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura as Amicus Curiae and directed the Registry to supply the paperbook in a contempt case
The Delhi High Court has appointed Senior Advocate Rajdipa Behura as Amicus Curiae to assist the Court in a contempt petition arising from alleged contemptuous social media posts and related electronic material against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
The case stems from a judgment dated 14 May 2026 passed by a Single Judge in CRL.REV.P. 134/2026 titled Central Bureau of Investigation vs. Kuldeep Singh and Ors., where reliance was placed on social media posts and other electronic and publication records.
In the order, the division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja directed the Registry to preserve copies of the material relied upon in the earlier judgment and place them before the Court in the present proceedings to ensure proper consideration of the record.
The Court had also issued notice to the alleged contemnors, including political leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Vinay Mishra, Devesh Vishwakarma and Saurabh Bhardwaj, making the notice returnable on 4 August 2026.
Notably, today, the Court issued notice to AAP leader Gopal Rai and journalist Saurav Das in the contempt petition.
The alleged contemnors have been directed to file their responses within four weeks of receipt of notice.
The Court also directed that a copy of the paperbook be supplied to the Amicus Curiae by the Registry to assist in the adjudication of the matter. "We also appoint Ms. Rajdipa Behura, Senior Advocate as Amicus Curiae to assist the Court in this case. A copy of the paperbook be supplied to the learned Amicus Curiae by the Registry of this Court," the bench ordered.
The proceedings stem from alleged “defamatory and vilifying” remarks made against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who was hearing the CBI’s challenge to the discharge of Kejriwal and other accused in the excise policy case. Justice Sharma took note of the allegations and initiated contempt proceedings against the AAP leaders. Following this, she also directed that the excise policy case be transferred to another Bench, given that Kejriwal and Sisodia are accused in the matter.
The controversy arose after Kejriwal, Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak sought Justice Sharma’s recusal from the case. The judge, however, rejected the application on April 20, observing that a litigant cannot be permitted to undermine judicial authority or “sow seeds of mistrust” against the institution.
Subsequently, social media posts targeting the judge surfaced, prompting the initiation of contempt proceedings. Justice Sharma also took note of letters written by Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak indicating a boycott of proceedings, as well as a video released by Kejriwal explaining the reasons for the boycott.
It is to be noted that the Central Bureau of Investigation’s petition challenging the discharge of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other accused in the corruption case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam will also be heard by Justice Manoj Jain on May 19.
Case Title: Court on its own motion v. Arvind Kejriwal and Ors.
Bench: Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja
Hearing Date: May 22, 2026