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Delhi HC appoints senior lawyers to assist after Kejriwal boycotts
05 May 2026

The Delhi High Court has said it will appoint three senior advocates as amicus curiae to represent Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak in the corruption case related to the alleged liquor policy scam.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma announced the decision after the three men decided to boycott proceedings before her in the revision plea filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The amici will be appointed on Friday
Judge

"I will appoint a senior advocate as amicus for 8, 18 and 19. So it will be appropriate...I hear CBI arguments once the amicus is appointed," she said.

The amici will be appointed on Friday, the next hearing date.

The trio had earlier sought the judge's recusal but she rejected their application.

She stated that a politician cannot be permitted to sow seeds of distrust, and that the appeal for her recusal amounted to putting the judiciary on trial.

Case dates back to 2022
Case background

The case dates back to 2022 when the CBI filed an FIR against the Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-22.

The CBI alleged that the policy was manipulated for monopolization and cartelization of liquor trade in Delhi, with AAP leaders receiving kickbacks from liquor manufacturers.

The Enforcement Directorate also registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

CBI challenges trial court's discharge order
Discharge appeal

In February, a trial court discharged Kejriwal and 22 others from the case. The CBI has since challenged this order, which is now being heard by Justice Sharma.

On March 9, Justice Sharma stayed the trial court's direction for department proceedings against the investigating CBI officer and gave prima facie findings that some observations made by the trial court were erroneous.

Kejriwal, others sought Justice Sharma's recusal
Recusal request

Kejriwal and other accused had sought Justice Sharma's recusal, citing her alleged public association with the RSS's legal front and potential bias due to her children's positions on the Union of India's advocates' panels.

However, Justice Sharma rejected their recusal applications on April 20.

After Justice Sharma's decision, Kejriwal announced that he would not seek justice from her and would instead follow the path of Satyagraha as shown by Mahatma Gandhi.