IN A DEVELOPMENT indicating that not all is well within the higher judiciary, Supreme Court judge Sandeep Mehta has written to the Chief Justice of India (‘CJI’) Surya Kant seeking the replacement of Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, over allegations of manipulating the listing of cases and bullying fellow judges at the High Court.
In three letters dated August 2, 10 and 17, Justice Mehta has accused Justice Sharma of “maladministration”, “malpractices”, “nepotism” and “favouritism”, and alleged that he has been exercising his powers as master of the roster to selectively move cases to his own bench, Hindustan Times reported.
Justice Sharma has been functioning as Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court since September 28 last year. He is due to retire on September 26, 2026.
In a press statement, CJI Surya Kant said that he and the other Collegium members are already working on filling vacancies for Chief Justices across the remaining High Courts, and that he has taken note of the concerns raised in Justice Mehta’s letters. He stressed, however, that allegations against a sitting judge must be dealt with strictly through the established institutional mechanism, and that the contents of the letters cannot be adjudicated in the public domain.
