Justice Manoj Jain assigned to hear Delhi MP and MLA criminal cases from July 1

The Delhi High Court in New Delhi has announced a roster reshuffle that will assign a new judge to hear criminal cases involving serving and former members of Parliament (MPs) and legislative assemblies (MLAs) starting July 1.

Justice Manoj Jain has been designated to take over the sensitive MP/MLA criminal docket. The change will take effect following the court's reopening after the annual summer vacation next week.

The roster was previously held by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. Under the new arrangement, which was issued as part of a routine annual reshuffle by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Sharma has been reassigned to the civil side. Her new portfolio will involve handling petitions related to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), the Delhi Urban Arts Commission, the Right to Information (RTI) Act, and sexual harassment at the workplace.

During her tenure presiding over the MP/MLA roster, Justice Sharma dealt with several high-profile cases involving prominent political figures. Notably, she heard appeals related to the Delhi excise policy case.

In February, Justice Sharma issued notices to all 23 accused in the excise case, including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia, following a plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against their discharge. At the time, she observed that the trial court's findings at the stage of framing charges appeared prima facie erroneous and required further consideration.

Justice Sharma subsequently dismissed applications requesting her recusal from the cases. In May, she initiated criminal contempt proceedings against the accused over "vilifying" social media posts, stating that the contempt matter would be referred to another bench.

The annual roster reshuffle is a standard administrative procedure carried out by the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court after the summer recess.