Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma has broken his silence on the allegations against him by Justice Sandeep Mehta, describing them as baseless & made out of resentment (ranjish). He asserted that he has already submitted his response, along with supporting evidence, to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
In a statement issued in Hindi amid the ongoing controversy, Justice Sharma said that he wanted to clarify his position in view of developments being reported in the media and social media. “I want to make it clear that I deny all these allegations. All the allegations are baseless and the allegations have been levelled by the Hon’ble Judge out of animosity,” he said, referring to allegations made against him by Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta. Justice Mehta had written three letters to the CJI in August raising concerns over Justice Sharma’s functioning and seeking his replacement as Acting Chief Justice.
Justice Sharma said he had submitted his position to CJI Surya Kant and had rebutted, with evidence, the allegations contained in Justice Mehta’s letters. He appealed to the media, lawyers and others to respect the judicial process and wait for the CJI’s decision.
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“I have submitted my position to the Hon’ble Supreme Court Chief Justice Shri Suryakant Ji. I have refuted, with evidence, the baseless, false and factless allegations made by Hon’ble Sandeep Mehta Ji in his written letters.”
Justice Sharma further said he had complete faith in the Indian judicial system and indicated that he would personally present his case before the media when the appropriate time came. ‘Please be patient until then’, he appealed.
The statement comes days after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal of the Chhattisgarh High Court as the next Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court. The development followed a controversy surrounding Justice Sharma’s tenure as Acting Chief Justice, after Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta wrote three letters to CJI Surya Kant alleging misuse of administrative and roster powers, manipulation of case listings in favour of influential and wealthy litigants, and instances of alleged corruption, nepotism and favouritism. Justice Mehta also referred to alleged interference in the posting and handling of certain cases and concerns regarding the treatment of members of the subordinate judiciary, and sought Justice Sharma’s transfer and appointment of a Chief Justice from outside Rajasthan
Justice Sharma subsequently opted out of holding court from September 1 to September 5.