SC Judge Questions Transfer of Rajasthan HC Acting Chief Justice

A Supreme Court judge, Justice Sandeep Mehta, has written three letters to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant, in August. He questioned why his requests to transfer Rajasthan High Court’s Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) Sanjeev Prakash Sharma have been ignored, despite clear evidence of favouritism.

In his first letter on August 2, Justice Mehta highlighted the “disturbing” situation at the Rajasthan High Court. He criticized the ACJ for lacking leadership and displaying unprofessional behaviour multiple times. The judge noted that he had repeatedly asked since early 2023 for a regular Chief Justice to be appointed from outside Rajasthan but received no positive response.

Justice Mehta claimed there were serious issues in how the High Court was being run under Justice Sharma, including cases being moved without reason and judicial officers being humiliated. He also mentioned that a plan to build an expensive guesthouse with public money was approved, which he called wasteful.

In his last letter on August 17, Justice Mehta used strong terms like “nepotism and favouritism” against the ACJ. He questioned why the Collegium had allowed Justice Sharma to stay in his position despite earlier rejections of his request for transfer to Rajasthan. The judge urged the CJI to act quickly to avoid further damage to the institution.

The Acting Chief Justice was recommended for transfer in May 2023 and has been holding the post since September 2024.