New Delhi, March 17 -- The Delhi High Court on Monday granted former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others time until April 5 to file their replies to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) appeal. The CBI is challenging a trial court's February 27 order discharging all 23 accused in the excise policy case. A bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma listed the matter for the next hearing on April 6. The order came after Kejriwal's lawyer, N Hariharan, along with counsel for other accused, urged the court to grant four weeks to submit responses. Hariharan informed the bench that a writ petition and a special leave petition (SLP) had been filed before the Supreme Court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the CBI with ASG SV Raju, opposed the request, arguing for no more than a week. He submitted that if the respondents had approached the Supreme Court, they should first get the matter listed there. Mehta further contended that a reply might not even be necessary, emphasizing an "emergency" in hearing the appeal as the trial court's order was "exceptionable." The high court's proceedings followed Kejriwal's Sunday move to the Supreme Court, seeking transfer of the case from Justice Sharma's bench after the Delhi High Court chief justice rejected a similar plea. Kejriwal also filed an SLP challenging the high court's March 9 order, which stayed trial court's order for departmental probe against the CBI investigating officer. "Irrespective till this court gets an order from the apex court of staying the proceedings, the case is to be proceeded as per law. Interim order to continue," Justice Sharma stated. The trial court's February 27 ruling had discharged Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and others, holding that the CBI's material did not disclose a prima facie case and criticizing the investigation. The high court, in CBI's appeal, had on March 9 stayed that part of the order concerning the investigating officer, terming the trial court's observations "prima facie erroneous."...