Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Durgesh Pathak. (Source: File)
Ahead of the hearing in the Delhi liquor policy case Wednesday, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Durgesh Pathak followed in the footsteps of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in shooting off a letter to Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma saying he, too, will remain unrepresented in the cases being heard by the Delhi High Court judge.
The three leaders are parties in Central Bureau of Investigation’s revision plea, challenging their discharge in the alleged liquor policy scam case that Justice Sharma is hearing. Justice Sharma last week refused to recuse herself from hearing CBI’s plea.
The CBI has challenged the discharge of 23 accused, including Kejriwal, Sisodia and Pathak, by a trial court in February in the case.
In a letter dated April 28 reportedly sent to Justice Sharma, Pathak referred to Kejriwal’s April 27 letter and said, “I too have resolved not to participate further in the present proceedings, either personally or through legal representation. The vakalatnama, if any, executed in my favour in this matter may be treated as having been duly discharged.”
Kejriwal, Sisodia, Pathak and three other accused in the alleged ‘scam’ had raised apprehensions of bias and made allegations of conflict of interest against Justice Sharma. The judge, however, refused to recuse.
Both Kejriwal and Sisodia, in their letters, reiterated their concern over Justice Sharma’s “public association with the RSS’s legal front, Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad”, and the fact that Justice Sharma’s children are on the Union of India’s advocates’ panels who are assigned cases by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
Kejriwal, in his letter, said, “I have lost hope of getting justice from Justice Swarana Kanta. Therefore, I have decided to follow the path of Satyagraha as shown by Mahatma Gandhi.”
Sisodia, too, in his letter on April 28, said that “there is no path left except Satyagraha,” while claiming that he does not “expect justice”.
Sisodia further wrote, “My concern too, much like Mr Kejriwal’s, is not born out of hostility to the court. “It is born of a deep unease that if I continue to participate despite these circumstances, I would be acting against my own conscience too while pretending before my fellow countrymen that all doubts stand resolved,” he said in the letter posted on X.
Kejriwal and the other accused have the right to file an appeal against Justice Sharma’s refusal to recuse from the case.
On April 28, Kejriwal, accompanied by Sisodia, visited the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, to emphasise their journey on the path of ‘Satyagraha’.
Curated by James Chen
