Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta has raised serious questions regarding the acting Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Sanjeev Prakash Sharma. Justice Mehta wrote three letters to CJI Surya Kant on August 2, 10 and 17, alleging that the listing of cases and administrative powers were allegedly being misused in the High Court. He has also made allegations like shifting some cases from one bench to another, favoritism and giving benefits to influential people.
Justice Mehta also said that he has received complaints from some judges of the High Court regarding the way Justice Sharma is working. He demanded from the CJI that the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court should be appointed from some other High Court and Justice Sharma should be sent out of Rajasthan. However, the allegations made in the letters remain allegations at present and no final decision has been made on whether they are right or wrong.
August 2: First question regarding listing of cases and judges.
Justice Sandeep Mehta said in the letter dated August 2 that he had earlier also informed the CJI about some complaints related to the listing of cases in the Rajasthan High Court. According to him, some cases which were pending before another bench were suddenly removed and sent to Justice Sharma's bench.
He claimed that there was always no clear reason behind such incidents. Justice Mehta also said that some judges of the Rajasthan High Court met him and expressed concern about the behavior of Justice Sharma and allegedly talked about threatening him with action like transfer.
10th August: From the land of Udaipur till the delay of 457 days
In the letter dated August 10, Justice Mehta specifically mentioned two cases. The first case was related to the valuable land of Udaipur. His allegation was that the appeals in these cases were put before the bench led by Justice Sharma in Jaipur, whereas earlier Justice Sharma himself had said that the cases which fall under the jurisdiction of the main bench based in Jodhpur, should be heard there.
The second case was said to be related to mining businessman Meghraj Singh. According to Justice Mehta, the delay of 457 days regarding the case was waived on the very first day and the related order was stayed. He alleged that the rules were not followed in the manner in which the case was registered and placed before the bench. Justice Mehta linked these cases to alleged misuse of administrative powers and benefiting some parties.
August 17: Questions on court building, judge's wife and conference
- In the letter of August 17, the scope of the allegations increased further. Justice Mehta raised the issue of the new district court building of Jodhpur with 40 courts. According to him, the building was ready for work for about a year, but its inauguration was stopped and many changes were ordered in it. Later CJI Surya Kant inaugurated this building on 15 August.
- He also mentioned a complaint related to Rajasthan High Court judge Justice Uma Shankar Vyas. According to Justice Mehta, Justice Sharma is accused of vindictive behavior with Justice Vyas's wife. His wife is a senior officer in the district court.
- Apart from this, questions were also raised on the international conference held in Jaipur from 31 July to 2 August. According to Justice Mehta, a large number of High Court judges and district judges were present at the conference, due to which the work of the courts was affected at some places. He also raised the issue of use of government money on the conference.
Allegations were also made regarding appointments and favoritism
Justice Mehta also raised questions regarding some appointments and suggested names of judges. Referring to a complaint, he said that in some appointments in permanent Lok Adalats, people close to Justice Sharma were allegedly given advantage. Apart from this, he also objected to the names of some lawyers being put forward to be made judges of the High Court. However, all these things have come forward only in the form of allegations and complaints, no final decision has been taken on these.
Who is Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma?
Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma was made the judge of Rajasthan High Court in November 2016. In January 2022, he was transferred to Patna High Court. After this he also remained in Punjab and Haryana High Court. In May 2025, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended sending him again to the Rajasthan High Court. After this he became the Acting Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court and is handling this responsibility for about 10 months till August 2026.