New Delhi, May 14 -- Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on Thursday initiated contempt proceedings against Arvind Kejriwal and several other Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Durgesh Pathak, Sanjay Singh, Vinay Mishra, and Saurabh Bharadwaj, over alleged defamatory and derogatory remarks made against her on social media in relation to the excise policy case, according to a report by Bar and Bench.

Following the initiation of contempt proceedings, Justice Sharma also recused herself from hearing the excise policy matter, noting that Kejriwal and Sisodia are among the accused in the case.

"It could be that if I keep hearing this case, Arvind Kejriwal and other people might think that I have a grudge against him...