THE SUPREME COURT COLLEGIUM has recommended Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal, whose parent high court is the Chhattisgarh High Court, as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court. The Collegium, in its meeting held on August 31, 2026, recommended the elevation of judges as Chief Justices of the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Courts, and separately recommended the transfer of Justice Agrawal from the Chhattisgarh High Court to the Rajasthan High Court.
The appointment of the Rajasthan High Court’s Chief Justice comes amidst protests by lawyers against Justice Sharma after Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta reportedly accused Justice Sharma, in a letter to the Chief Justice of India (‘CJI’), of manipulating the listing of cases and threatening judicial officers. The Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, has decided not to hold court till September 5. He is slated to retire on September 25 this year.
In a roster issued last evening under Justice Sharma’s signature, no Bench comprising him has been constituted till September 5 to hear any matter at the Jaipur Bench. The roster issued for the Jodhpur Bench also, Justice Sharma has not assigned any matter to himself.
Being Acting Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice Sharma is also the Master of Roster who has exclusive power to constitute Benches and assign cases to judges.
In a video that went viral on social media, a group of lawyers at the Rajasthan High Court was heard saying: “Gali gali mein shor hai, hamara mukhiya chor hai”
The Rajasthan High Court Lawyers Association also declared a complete strike till September 6, demanding that Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma be divested of his office of Acting Chief Justice and a permanent Chief Justice be appointed to the High Court.
This development comes against the backdrop of events that unfolded last week, when it was reported that Supreme Court judge Justice Mehta wrote to CJI Surya Kant seeking the replacement of Acting Chief Justice 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.
Justice Sharma has been functioning as Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court since September 28 last year.
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.
He added that any decision on Justice Sharma’s continuation, transfer or other administrative action would be taken by the competent institutional authority after due consideration. The CJI further emphasised that the Supreme Court cannot allow individual complaints concerning judges to be resolved through competing claims made in the media.
It remains unexplained why the Supreme Court Collegium could not recommend the appointment of a regular Chief Justice at the Rajasthan High Court for such a long time, more so when a sitting judge of the Supreme Court hailing from the Rajasthan High Court sent not one but three letters to the CJI highlighting allegations of manipulating the listing of cases to allegedly benefit rich litigants, threatening fellow judges, and his vindictive behaviour towards judicial officers. Equally unexplained is why, despite these serious allegations being on record with the CJI since early August, no transfer or interim administrative action has been taken against Justice Sharma so far, even as he continues to function as Acting Chief Justice.
Justice Mehta, in his letters, warned that the continuation of Justice Sharma at the Rajasthan High Court is wholly against the interest of the institution. He has alluded that efforts are being made to make Justice Sharma the regular Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
Justice Sharma was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in November 2016. The Supreme Court Collegium comprising the then CJI N.V. Ramana and Justices U.U. Lalit, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and L. Nageswara Rao, on September 16, 2021, decided to transfer Justice Sharma from the Rajasthan High Court to the Patna High Court. The recommendation was reiterated by the Collegium on September 21, 2021. He was eventually transferred to the Patna High Court on January 1, 2022, for the better administration of justice.
Justice Sharma later sought repatriation to the Rajasthan High Court on the ground of his poor health and the unavailability of adequate medical facilities at Patna.
On March 28, 2023, the Supreme Court Collegium headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, K.M. Joseph, M.R. Shah and Ajay Rastogi, rejected his request to repatriate him to the Rajasthan High Court and instead recommended his transfer to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
However, for some unknown reasons, on May 26, 2025, the Collegium headed by CJI B.R. Gavai and comprising Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari and B.V. Nagarathna, sent Justice Sharma back to his parent High Court, that is, the Rajasthan High Court, where he became Acting Chief Justice by virtue of seniority last year. This meeting took place two days after the retirement of Justice Abhay S. Oka, who retired on May 24, 2025, and was a member of the Collegium.
