New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and senior party leader Manish Sisodia have Supreme Court after chief justice delhi high court The party on Sunday said it rejected their request to transfer the CBI’s removal plea from Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma to another judge in the GST policy case.The development comes a day before a CBI petition challenging the release order is scheduled to be heard before Justice Sharma.
Chief Justice of Delhi High Court rejects transfer request
Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya of the Delhi High Court rejected the request of former Chief Minister Kejriwal and other defendants to transfer the matter to the administrative side, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.The Chief Justice held that Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who is hearing a petition from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the basis of roster allocation, found no reason to pass a transfer order, sources quoted by PTI said.After being rejected, AAP said Kejriwal and Sisodia had approached the Supreme Court challenging the decision.
Why is Kejriwal looking for a transfer?
On March 11, Kejriwal, Sisodia and other accused in the GST policy case filed a submission before the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court seeking transfer of the CBI plea from Justice Sharma to another “impartial” judge.In his statement, Kejriwal said he had “serious, sincere and legitimate concerns” that the hearing on the matter would not be fair and neutral.The CBI has moved the Delhi High Court against the trial court’s order releasing Kejriwal and other accused in the GST policy case.
What happened in the High Court?
While issuing notice to all 23 accused, including Kejriwal, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that certain findings and observations made by the trial court during the charge-sheet stage appear to be erroneous on their face and need to be considered.This observation seems to have triggered concerns among AAP leaders.Earlier, Kejriwal’s counsel argued that the high court in the first brief hearing on March 9 not only issued notice but also unilaterally recorded the detailed order of the trial court without hearing the released accused was “erroneous” in its preliminary view.The Representative also objected to the High Court’s stay of the trial court’s directions and observations on the investigating officer, including the proposed departmental action, without elaborating on the specific irregularities that justified such interim intervention.This provision of relief at the initial stage and the lack of hearings for defendants who have been released heightened concerns that amending pleas might not get the required judicial hearings, according to submissions.
The trial court has released Kejriwal, Sisodia and others
The debate over the charges in the GST policy case started in December 2025 and on February 27, the CBI special court passed a detailed order releasing Kejriwal, Sisodia, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and all other accused involved in the case.Kejriwal was arrested in connection with the case in June 2024 and charged in July 2024.The CBI petition challenging the release is now on the list for hearing before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Monday.