A bench of the Delhi High Court will be reconstituted after Justice Tejas Karia recused himself from hearing a plea accusing Arvind Kejriwal and others of sharing courtroom footage without authorisation.

Justice Tejas Karia on Wednesday declined to continue hearing a public interest petition that names former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and journalist-turned-YouTuber Ravish Kumar.

The division bench, which also included Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya, directed that the matter be placed before another bench in which Justice Karia will not participate. The case is expected to be listed again on Thursday.

Allegations in the PIL

The petition was filed by advocate Vishal Singh, who alleged that certain political leaders conspired to portray the judiciary as being influenced by political forces. The complaint centres on the alleged recording and dissemination of court proceedings linked to a hearing held on April 13 before Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma.

The petitioner has sought the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the allegations. He has also requested directions to remove the videos from social media platforms, claiming that their circulation damaged the reputation of the judiciary.

Background to the dispute

The controversy stems from submissions made by Kejriwal on April 13 in connection with a Central Bureau of Investigation case related to Delhi’s excise policy. During that hearing, he had urged Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma to step aside, citing what he described as a reasonable apprehension of bias in a politically sensitive matter.

Kejriwal referred to the judge’s reported participation in events organised by the Adhivakta Parishad, an association linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), arguing that such associations could raise concerns about perceived neutrality given his political stance against the RSS and the BJP.

Subsequently, videos of the courtroom proceedings were allegedly shared online with the involvement of political figures, prompting the present PIL.

With Justice Karia recusing himself, Chief Justice Upadhyaya will now assign the matter to an alternate bench for further hearing.