New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today ordered issuance of fresh notices to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, senior leader Manish Sisodia and former MLA Durgesh Pathak. The order was given during the hearing of a CBI petition challenging the discharge of the accused by the lower court in the liquor policy case. In its petition, the CBI has challenged the trial court’s decision in February, in which several accused related to the excise policy case were discharged. The agency says that a re-examination of the lower court’s decision is necessary. The court has fixed the next hearing of the case on May 25.
During the hearing, Justice Manoj Jain noted that the three defendants—Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Durgesh Pathak—had not appeared in court today. The court was also informed that the three defendants had not appeared in court on previous dates as well. In its petition, the CBI challenged the trial court’s decision in February to discharge several accused in the excise policy case. The agency argues that a re-examination of the lower court’s decision is necessary.
AAP leaders were not appearing before Justice Swaran Kanta Sharma. Justice Jain directed the CBI to inform the three leaders that the liquor policy case had now been transferred to them. The court said that if they wished to appear, they could do so.
The court said, “We understand that this case has been transferred. It is already in the headlines, so we assume they are aware of the transfer. However, we will send them a new notice. A delay of a day or two will not make any difference, and only when they are here will we know whether they are satisfied with the current allocation. The best situation would be for everyone to be present and everyone’s views heard.”
The court stated that the defendants may file any response before the next date of hearing. The court directed that notice be served on those defendants who are not appearing for a lawyer. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 25th. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that notice on the CBI’s petition was issued on March 9th and had been served on all parties.
He told the court, “They are aware of this. Several orders were passed after this. I am not going into the merits of the case right now. This is a case where a charge sheet was filed due to serious allegations. The defendants filed applications for discharge… At the time of framing the charges, everyone requested discharge; there was no specific application. The discharge order cannot stand the test of law.” Tushar Mehta argued that the case relates to an alleged ‘scam’ in Delhi and should be decided as soon as possible.
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