The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued formal notices to top Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, in a suo motu criminal contempt case. The court’s action marks a significant escalation in the legal fallout surrounding the Delhi excise policy case, focusing on what has been described as a targeted online campaign against the judiciary.
A division bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja issued the notices on Tuesday and is scheduled to hear the matter. Along with Kejriwal and Sisodia, the high court has issued notices to prominent AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Vinay Mishra, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Durgesh Pathak.
The criminal contempt proceedings were initiated last week by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court. The decision to take suo motu action followed observations of aggressive online behavior directed at the court during hearings related to the Delhi excise policy case.
According to Justice Sharma, the digital pushback crossed the line from public commentary into a coordinated effort to undermine legal authority. She noted that a “calculated campaign of vilification in the digital space” had been launched by the AAP leaders.
Justice Sharma emphasized that the online attacks were not merely personal grievances directed at her as an individual sitting judge. Instead, she warned that the digital campaign posed a broader threat, targeting the entire institution of the judiciary and the integrity of the adjudicatory process itself.
With the division bench of Justices Chawla and Dudeja now taking up the matter, the AAP leadership faces intense legal scrutiny over their online messaging and public communication strategy regarding the ongoing excise case.
