BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj calls Kejriwal a ‘bully’; slams AAP as ‘drama company’ over recusal plea

A day after Arvind Kejriwal’s plea seeking the recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the Delhi excise policy case was dismissed by the Delhi High Court, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj on Tuesday accused the AAP supremo of attempting to pressure the judiciary, calling him a “bully”.

“Arvind Kejriwal is a bully. You tried to pressurise a female member of the judiciary of this country. Rejecting his politics of creating pressure on the judiciary, the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea for transfer (of the case). It is now proven that AAP is a drama company and Arvind Kejriwal is the director of this company,” she said.

Advertisement

“Arvind Kejriwal seems to have forgotten that the judicial system of this country does not function according to his convenience. It functions under the law and the Constitution of India,” she added.

Delhi High Court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Monday rejected the former Chief Minister’s recusal plea in the liquor policy case, stating that “justice is not achieved by bowing to pressure”. Justice Sharma observed that a litigant cannot be allowed to judge a judge without any material, and that judges cannot recuse themselves to satisfy a litigant’s unfounded apprehension of bias.

Asserting that the narrative in the pleas for her recusal was based on conjectures and “perceived inclinations”, she said a political leader cannot be allowed to damage an institution without any basis, as a personal attack on a judge is an attack on the judiciary itself. “This court will stand up for itself and the institution… I will not recuse,” the judge said.

Kejriwal had raised several objections against the judge hearing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) plea against his discharge in the liquor policy case, including that she had earlier denied him relief on his petition challenging his arrest and refused to grant relief on the bail pleas of other accused, including Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha.