Kejriwal and Sisodia’s Recusal Pleas Dismissed: A Masterclass in Judicial Resilience

A case involving the Delhi Excise Policy dealt with by the Delhi High Court in which Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma rebuffed recusal applications. The high-profile respondents such as Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia articulated a fear of being prejudged against in the light of the well-documented judgments made by the Court in the past and the fact that the Judge attended legal seminars.

The Court gave a lesson on judicial integrity, stating that justice cannot be compromised, pressured and influenced by the influence of influential people. Justice Sharma made clear that the observations of prima facie are provisional and initial impressions and not a prior conclusion. Moreover, the Court observed that had all the judges who had determined a bail application been disqualified in the next trial, the whole structure of the judicial system would have failed.

The case also strongly dealt with personal attacks in the form of members of the family of the Judge serving on Government legal panels. The Court held that independent professional decisions of family members do not override the great presumption of judicial impartiality.

Key Takeaways:

1. Recusal is Not a Choice of a Litigant: Recusal cannot just be imposed by a judge to please a litigant whose subjective discomfort or in a bid to escape manufactured accusations.

2. Fighting Forum Shopping: Recusal with no evidence of cause would enable big litigants to judge, hunt and pick their own bench which destroys the credibility of the institution.

3.  Preserving Judicial Independence: Judges are expected to have an open mind and not an empty one. Having relatives in the same profession or only being present in legal seminars is not a conflict of interest.

In the end, the Court ruled that the insinuations would not bring down the "robe" and that the responsibility of adjudicating without fear or favour should be the ultimate.

Central Bureau of Investigation Versus Kuldeep Singh & Ors.