Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice SP Sharma opts himself out of judicial work

The Rajasthan High Court acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma has decided to opt himself out from hearing cases following protests against him by lawyers

According to the new roster finalised by Justice Sharma, no bench has been constituted which includes him and no regular judicial sittings have been assigned to him from September 1 to September 5.

The new roster also provides for cases earlier assigned to the acting Chief Justice to be dealt with by other benches.

The change comes amid protests by lawyers demanding that Justice Sharma be divested of his charge and that a permanent Chief Justice be appointed to the High Court.

Earlier today, the Rajasthan High Court Lawyers Association announced a complete strike till September 6 after an emergency general house meeting on Monday.

The association also decided to send representations to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and the President of India.

The strike had followed protests by advocates at both the Jaipur and Jodhpur benches of the High Court against Justice Sharma, during which police were called in to disperse lawyers at the Jaipur premises.

Visuals from the protests showed advocates raising slogans against Justice Sharma, including one alleging that “our chief is a thief.”

The protests followed allegations made by Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta against Justice Sharma.

As first reported by Bar & Bench, Justice Mehta had written to the CJI alleging manipulation of case listings and misuse of administrative powers by Justice Sharma. He had also sought the appointment of a Chief Justice from another State to head the Rajasthan High Court with immediate effect.

The CJI subsequently said that the Collegium was examining the allegations and that Justice Sharma would be given an opportunity to respond before any conclusion was reached.

The letter triggered protests by lawyers who have now demanded that Justice Sharma be kept away from his duties as acting Chief Justice.