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Justice Sandeep Mehta urged CJI Surya Kant to appoint a new Chief Justice for Rajasthan HC, alleging Acting CJ Sanjeev Prakash Sharma misused power.
Justice Sandeep Mehta (L) and Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma (R). (SC website/NALSA)
Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta has written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant seeking the immediate appointment of a Chief Justice from another State to head the Rajasthan High Court, alleging that Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma misused his administrative powers, manipulated case listings and favoured influential litigants.
In three letters dated August 2, August 10 and August 17, Justice Mehta levelled a series of allegations against Justice Sharma, including “maladministration”, “malpractices”, “nepotism” and “favouritism”.
“However, till date, the request to have a Chief Justice from another State in my parent High Court has met no positive response,” Justice Mehta wrote.
According to the letters, Justice Mehta had earlier raised concerns with the CJI about cases allegedly being withdrawn from other benches and transferred to Justice Sharma’s court “without any justifiable cause”. He said the CJI initially asked him to provide details of such cases and later assured him that “suitable action” would be taken.
Justice Mehta also claimed that he had received several complaints from judges of the Rajasthan High Court regarding Justice Sharma’s conduct.
In his August 2 letter, he wrote that “numerous Judges of Rajasthan High Court have met me and expressed their anguish at the behaviour of Mr. Justice SP Sharma, who frequently threatens his colleague judges of retributive action, including transfer, claiming his closeness with Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India.”
Justice Mehta’s concerns included two specific cases that he cited as examples of alleged misuse of administrative powers.
One involved a batch of appeals concerning what he described as “priceless lands” in Udaipur. Justice Mehta alleged that the matters were shifted to a bench headed by Justice Sharma at the Jaipur seat, despite an earlier judicial view that cases falling within the jurisdiction of the principal bench at Jodhpur could not be moved there.
Justice Mehta also pointed to the counsel appearing for one of the parties, alleging that Justice Sharma was “espousing the elevation” of the lawyer’s daughter-in-law to the Rajasthan High Court.
The second case concerned mining magnate Meghraj Singh. Justice Mehta alleged that a matter arising from criminal jurisdiction was registered as a Special Appeal Writ and placed before Justice Sharma’s bench despite, according to him, no such appeal being maintainable. He further claimed that the bench condoned a delay of 457 days on the first day and stayed a direction passed by the single judge.
“These instances manifest brazen misuse of powers by the Acting Chief Justice Mr SP Sharma in order to favour influential parties and smack of corruption,” Justice Mehta wrote.
Justice Mehta’s letters also referred to an earlier observation by a Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Surya Kant about judges passing orders for extraneous considerations shortly before retirement and attempting to “hit sixes” before demitting office.
Justice Mehta alleged that Justice Sharma had taken such actions after assuming charge as Acting Chief Justice.
The August 17 letter raised further concerns about the administration of the Rajasthan High Court. Justice Mehta referred to a purported message by Justice Uma Shankar Vyas expressing anguish over what was described as vindictive action against his wife, Nandini Vyas, a senior officer in the district judiciary.
The letter also cited allegations regarding delays in the inauguration of a new court building in Jodhpur and alleged irregularities in appointments to permanent Lok Adalats.
Justice Sharma was appointed a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in November 2016 and was transferred to the Patna High Court in 2022. He was later posted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court before returning to Rajasthan following a Collegium recommendation in May 2025. He subsequently took charge as Acting Chief Justice.
Justice Mehta has urged the CJI to appoint a Chief Justice from another State to lead the Rajasthan High Court “with immediate effect”, saying the situation required urgent intervention.
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18Allegations of misuse of power and manipulation of case listings by an Acting Chief Justice could raise questions about judicial accountability and public trust in the judiciary. Concerns have also been raised about alleged lack of impartiality in other cases due to the involvement of legal professionals and former judges.
Ask News18About the Author
Covering day-to-day national and international news for the last nine years across print and digital. Associated with News18.com as Chief Sub-Editor since 2022, covering innumerable big and small even…Read More
August 26, 2026, 1:12 PM IST
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