"Made Out Of Animosity": Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Sharma Breaks Silence On Justice Sandeep Mehta's Allegations

Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma has broken his silence on the allegations against him, calling them baseless and asserting that he has placed his response before the Supreme Court.

The statement comes days after the Collegium recommended Chhattisgarh High Court judge Sanjay K Agarwal as the new Chief Justice of Rajasthan, effectively replacing him, and after lawyers at the Jaipur and Jodhpur Benches protested his continuation in office, prompting him to step back from judicial work for the week.

In a statement issued, Justice Sharma said, "In the context of the recent developments in the media and social media, I want to make it clear that I deny all these allegations. All the allegations are baseless and have been made by the Honourable Judge out of animosity."

He added, "I have submitted my position to the Honourable Supreme Court Justice, Mr Surya Kant. I have refuted, with evidence, the baseless, false, and fact-less allegations made by Honourable Sandeep Mehta in his letters," he said.

Background

The controversy began after Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta wrote a series of letters to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, raising serious concerns about the administration of the Rajasthan High Court under Justice Sharma. The letters, dated August 2, 10 and 17, accused him of favouritism, misuse of administrative powers, and manipulation of case listings, and urged the CJI to bring in a permanent Chief Justice from another High Court.

The letters cited multiple instances, including claims that Justice Sharma threatened fellow judges with retaliatory transfers by invoking proximity to the CJI, and that valuable land appeals in Udaipur were listed before his own bench in Jaipur despite an earlier ruling of his barring such matters from moving from Jodhpur to Jaipur.

They also referred to a complaint from Justice Uma Shankar Vyas alleging vindictive conduct towards his wife, a senior judicial officer, and flagged a delay in inaugurating a new Jodhpur court building. A separate complaint accused Justice Sharma of securing Permanent Lok Adalat appointments for associates and recommending advocates for elevation despite their not being in active practice.

Responding to the growing controversy, CJI Surya Kant had earlier issued a statement clarifying that the allegations were still being examined and could not be treated as established findings merely because they had surfaced publicly. He said the contents of Justice Mehta's letters "cannot be adjudicated in the public domain" and that Justice Sharma must be given a fair opportunity to respond before any conclusion is reached. The CJI also stressed that complaints against sitting judges cannot be settled through "competing claims in the media."

Justice Sharma was appointed a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in November 2016, before being transferred to the Patna High Court in 2022 and later to the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He returned to Rajasthan as Acting Chief Justice under a Collegium resolution passed in May 2025, a post he has now held for close to a year, and one from which he is due to retire on September 26, 2026.

With the Collegium having recommended Justice Agarwal's elevation as regular Chief Justice, the immediate demand of the protesting lawyers appears addressed. Under the updated Jaipur Bench roster, Justice Sharma was not scheduled to hold judicial sittings between September 1 and September 5, a period that coincided with the protests and the Collegium's recommendation of his replacement.