New Delhi: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi high court on Tuesday (April 28) recused from hearing Congress MP Karti Chidambaram’s plea to quash the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI’s) corruption case related to alleged Diageo Scotland bribery, LiveLaw reported. The CBI had accused him of giving relief to the alcoholic beverage company, Diageo Scotland, against a ban on duty-free sale of its whisky in 2005, when P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister. Chidambaram moved the court seeking quashing of the case.In his petition, Chidambaram called the FIR against him a “political vendetta”.However, Bar and Bench reported that when the matter was taken up for hearing, Justice Sharma said that the case will have to be listed before a different bench in July.She added that another case filed by Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited concerning the same FIR will also be heard by a different bench.The Congress MP has been booked under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and for offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.This is not the first time Sharma has recused from hearing Chidambaram’s plea. In January, the judge had recused herself from hearing his plea challenging a trial court order in the alleged Chinese visa scam case.This comes just a week after Justice Sharma rejected a petition of Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and others seeking her recusal from the Delhi excise policy case. The AAP leaders had alleged that her ideological bias gives rise to conflict of interest.While she denied the allegations, the CBI has earlier submitted documents in court detailing four instances where Justice Sharma participated in Akhil Bhartiya Adhivakta Parishad events between 2022 and 2025 to oppose recusal applications.Meanwhile, Justice Sharma’s children are part of the Union government panel counsel.The CBI has countered bias allegations noting that Justice Sharma granted interim bail to co-accused Arun Ramchandran Pillai on three separate occasions and that passing favourable and unfavourable orders removes any apprehension of bias.