NEW DELHI: In an unprecedented institutional rift within the higher judiciary, Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta has written a series of letters to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, alleging “gross maladministration” and “misuse of powers” by the Acting Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma. In three separate communications sent earlier this month and also marked to members of the Supreme Court Collegium, Justice Mehta—who hails from Rajasthan—urged the CJI to immediately replace Justice Sharma and transfer him out of the state to preserve the integrity of the judiciary.
The core of Justice Mehta’s complaint centers on severe administrative and judicial improprieties, specifically alleging that Justice Sharma has manipulated his authority as master of the roster to arbitrarily reassign high-stakes cases to his own bench. Citing several specific orders, Justice Mehta highlighted instances where cases were shifted to Jaipur despite falling under the jurisdiction of the Jodhpur principal seat, often involving counsel who were former legal associates of the Acting Chief Justice. He further alleged that Justice Sharma has threatened fellow judges with retributive transfers while falsely invoking proximity to the CJI’s office.
Beyond procedural manipulation, the letters detail administrative slights and question the decision to grant Justice Sharma an extended tenure as Acting Chief Justice. Justice Mehta pointed out that a 2023 Supreme Court Collegium resolution had previously declined Justice Sharma’s repatriation to Rajasthan due to past conduct concerns, making his current appointment particularly contentious. Warning that failure to intervene would cause irreversible damage to the institutional standing of the Rajasthan High Court, Justice Mehta urged the Collegium to appoint an independent Chief Justice from another state without delay.
