Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Wednesday said that he has taken note of concerns raised by Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta regarding Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice SP Sharma.
In a press statement issued on Wednesday evening, the CJI said that allegations against a sitting judge has to go through the established institutional process and a decision can be taken only after giving Justice Sharma an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
The press statement was issued by the CJI after Bar & Bench reported on three letters written by Justice Mehta to the CJI seeking the transfer of Justice Sharma from Rajasthan over allegations including manipulation of case listings and misuse of office.
Justice Mehta’s letters urged the Collegium to appoint a Chief Justice from another High Court to head the Rajasthan High Court with immediate effect.
Justice Mehta accused Justice Sharma of manipulating case listings in favour of rich litigants and misusing his administrative powers ahead of his retirement, due later next month.
In his August 2 letter, Justice Mehta referred to complaints allegedly made by judges of the Rajasthan High Court about Justice Sharma’s conduct. He also alleged that Justice Sharma had threatened fellow judges at the High Court with transfers by claiming proximity to the CJI.
The letters cited two division bench orders of the Rajasthan High Court. In a batch of appeals over what Justice Mehta calls "priceless lands" in the city of Udaipur, the cases were listed before Justice Sharma's own bench at the Jaipur seat, despite an earlier judgment by Justice Sharma himself holding that such principal bench matters at Jodhpur seat could not be moved there.
Another letter of August 17 alleged that a sitting Rajasthan High Court judge - Justice Uma Shankar Vyas - complained to fellow judges of vindictive conduct by Justice Sharma towards his wife, a senior district judiciary officer.
The CJI in his press statement has maintained that these allegations could not be considered as proven and established. He also stressed that Justice Sharma must be given an opportunity to respond before any conclusion is reached.
“The contents of the letters cannot be adjudicated in the public domain and that the concerned judge must be given a fair opportunity to place his response before any conclusion is reached. The fact that allegations have been made, therefore, cannot by itself be treated as a finding against the judge,” the CJI said.
The CJI further said the matter is being examined at the appropriate institutional level and that both the material placed by Justice Mehta and Justice Sharma’s response would be considered.
He added that any decision concerning Justice Sharma’s continuation, transfer or other administrative action would be taken by the competent institutional authority after considering the material.
The CJI also said that the issue should not be decided through competing claims made in the media.
“The Supreme Court cannot allow individual complaints concerning judges to be determined through competing claims in the media,” he said.