New Delhi, March 16 (NationPress) Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has filed a petition with the Supreme Court contesting the decision made by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, who denied his request to move the hearing of the CBI’s petition regarding the Delhi excise policy case from the panel led by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

In the writ petition submitted to the apex court, Kejriwal criticized a communication from the Registrar General of the Delhi High Court, which indicated that Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya — responsible for roster assignments — did not find sufficient grounds to transfer the case to another bench.

The petition claims that the Chief Justice's refusal was based on the assertion that the case was assigned to Justice Sharma in line with the current roster, and thus, there was no justification for a transfer through an administrative order.

Kejriwal argues that the denial to transfer the case creates a “serious, bona fide, and reasonable apprehension” about the potential lack of impartiality and neutrality in the hearing.

He also noted prior decisions in excise policy cases where bail was denied to multiple defendants by Justice Sharma, only to be subsequently granted by the Supreme Court.

In addition, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) head has submitted a Special Leave Petition (SLP) contesting remarks made by Justice Sharma during the review plea brought by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Sources indicate that these matters might be presented before the Supreme Court on Monday for an urgent hearing.

Recently, a single-judge panel led by Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma of the Delhi HC temporarily halted the trial court’s order for departmental action against a CBI officer who had investigated the matter, asserting that the comments made regarding the investigating agency and the officer would be stayed.

The court also issued a notice to Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and other parties regarding the CBI’s appeal against the trial court’s refusal to frame charges against the defendants.

The agency’s criminal revision petition questioned the trial court's ruling that discharged all 23 defendants, including Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia, in the corruption case tied to the now-revoked excise policy initiated by the then AAP-led Delhi government.

The trial court concluded that the evidence did not substantiate the supposed overarching conspiracy behind the creation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021–22, which was later annulled amidst corruption and kickback allegations.