Justice Mehta’s fresh salvo rocks Rajasthan HC

In a fresh salvo at Rajasthan High Court judge Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, the Supreme Court’s Justice Sandeep Mehta has sent a fourth letter to CJI Surya Kant, accusing Sharma of interfering in an internal judicial enquiry, breaching confidentiality and abusing administrative powers.

Justice Mehta had earlier written three letters on August 2, 10 and 17, accusing Sharma, the then acting chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court, of “maladministration”, “malpractices”, “nepotism” and “favouritism”.

Justice Sharma, who went on leave following a protest by a group of advocates outside his courtroom, had termed the allegations against him as baseless.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant had, on August 26, said that Justice Mehta’s allegations against Sharma cannot be adjudicated in the public domain and the judge “must be given a fair opportunity” before any conclusion is reached. In his fourth letter dated August 30, Justice Mehta, whose parent high court is also the Rajasthan High Court, claimed he has “further information” and “material” regarding arbitrary, dubious and patently “high-handed” acts of Justice Sharma.

Justice Mehta has alleged arbitrary rule changes, judicial interference in a land dispute and broader corruption and administrative breakdown at the Rajasthan High Court.

He said a complaint committee of the High Court was constituted to enquire into the allegations against a judicial officer who was accused of displaying indecent pictures of a fellow lady officer on his mobile phone.

“Two Resolutions of the committee dated May 21, 2026 and July 9, 2026 clearly record that the Acting Chief Justice (Justice Sharma) has made direct intervention in the enquiry proceedings, hampering the independence of the committee and that such intervention could vitiate the enquiry as a whole and also breached the confidentiality of such sensitive proceedings,” Justice Mehta wrote.

He alleged that the committee, comprising three female Judges of the Rajasthan High Court, recorded the said minutes and refused to proceed with the enquiry.

“The Committee also observed that the Acting Chief Justice caused the records of the Committee to be shared with other officers of the registry and judicial officers, thereby breaching the confidentiality of the enquiry instituted against a judicial officer with grave charges,” he claimed.

On August 31, the Supreme Court collegium had recommended Justice Sanjay K Agrawal as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.

Justice Mehta had levelled sensational allegations against Justice Sharma in his three letters to the CJI urging him to appoint a permanent chief justice from outside the state.

Justice Mehta was appointed a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in May 2011. He became Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in February 2023 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in November the same year.

Justice Sharma was appointed a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in November 2016 and transferred to the Patna High Court in January 2022.

His request for repatriation to Rajasthan on health grounds was not accepted by the Supreme Court Collegium in March 2023.

He was instead transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Collegium subsequently recommended his repatriation to Rajasthan in May 2025.