Delhi high court judge Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma recused herself from hearing Congress MP Karti Chidambaram's petition seeking to quash a CBI FIR accusing him of helping UK-based liquor company Diageo Scotland secure the lifting of a ban on duty-free sale of its whisky in India.
When the matter was taken up, the judge said Karti's plea, along with a connected petition filed by Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd (ASCPL) seeking identical relief, would have to be heard by another bench. She did not specify the reason for stepping aside.
The recusal comes at a time when former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leader Manish Sisodia have chosen not to participate in proceedings before justice Sharma in the CBI's appeal against their discharge in the Delhi excise policy case, pending before her bench.
Karti's petitions were earlier listed before Justices Vikas Mahajan and Ravinder Dudeja, and came before Justice Sharma's bench for the first time following a change in roster.
The CBI alleges that Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd, an entity controlled by Karti and his close friend S Bhaskararaman, received suspicious fund transfers from liquor company Diageo as well as venture capital fund Sequoia Capital.
Karti has contended that despite conducting a preliminary enquiry for nearly seven years, the CBI failed to identify or name any public servant allegedly influenced by him. He also said he was never called to join the enquiry or given an opportunity to be heard.
