Rajasthan HC acting CJ faces replacement amid power misuse allegations
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The Supreme Court collegium on Monday recommended the appointment of Justice Sanjay K Agrawal as the chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court, Hindustan Times reported.
Agrawal is currently a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court. The collegium comprises Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Vikram Nath and BV Nagarathna.
The recommendation came amid allegations of misuse of administrative power against Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, who is due to retire on September 26.
Sharma on Monday decided to opt out of hearing cases following protests by lawyers against him, Bar and Bench reported.
In letters sent to Chief Justice Kant in August, Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta alleged that Sharma had manipulated the listing of cases to favour wealthy litigants and used his position to appoint people close to him to administrative posts. Mehta had sought Sharma’s replacement as acting chief justice “with immediate effect”.
Under the new roster prepared by Sharma, no bench has been constituted with him as a member, and he has not been assigned regular judicial sittings from Tuesday to Saturday, Bar and Bench reported. The roster also transferred cases previously handled by Sharma to other benches.
Earlier on Monday, the Rajasthan High Court Lawyers Association announced a strike until September 6, demanding Sharma’s removal as acting chief justice and the appointment of a permanent chief justice.
Sharma was appointed as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in November 2016 and was transferred to the Patna High Court in 2022.
After Sharma sought a return to Rajasthan on health grounds, the collegium headed by then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud rejected his request in March 2023. Sharma was instead transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
In May 2025, a fresh collegium recommended his transfer back to Rajasthan.
He later became the acting chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court. In his letters, Mehta said Sharma had held the position for “more than 10 months”.
Mehta also claimed that several judges of the Rajasthan High Court had approached him during his visits to the state and raised concerns about Sharma’s conduct.
Following the allegations, lawyers at the Jaipur and Jodhpur benches of the High Court staged protests against Sharma.
On August 26, Kant said the allegations against Sharma were being examined at the “appropriate level”. Taking note of Mehta’s complaint, Kant said Sharma had to be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.