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🇮🇳 India /Crime & Justice

Amid corruption and nepotism row, Centre appoints Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal as Rajasthan High Court chief justice

From Hindustan Times · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • The Centre notified Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal’s appointment as chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court, one of eight high court chief justice appointments announced Saturday night.
  • The appointment follows allegations of corruption, nepotism, favoritism and administrative impropriety made by Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta against Rajasthan acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.
  • Agrawal’s appointment could give the Rajasthan High Court a regular chief justice after nearly a year, but it does not resolve Mehta’s separate request to transfer Sharma.

The Centre has appointed Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal as chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court, potentially ending nearly a year without a regular full-time head for the court. The move comes as a dispute over the court’s acting chief justice continues.

The appointment was notified on Saturday night along with seven others. Agrawal currently serves as a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court. The Supreme Court collegium recommended him for the Rajasthan post four days earlier and separately recommended his transfer from Chhattisgarh to Rajasthan.

corruption

· Justice Sandeep MehtaOne of the allegations Justice Mehta made against Rajasthan acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.

The Rajasthan appointment has drawn attention because Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta wrote three letters to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on August 2, 10 and 17. Mehta accused acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma of “corruption”, “nepotism”, “favouritism” and misuse of administrative powers, and sought Sharma’s transfer out of Rajasthan. Mehta also urged the appointment of a regular chief justice from another high court.

nepotism

· Justice Sandeep MehtaOne of the allegations Justice Mehta made against Rajasthan acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.

The Chief Justice of India has indicated that allegations against a sitting judge must be handled through the established institutional process and that Sharma must have an opportunity to respond. Sharma has submitted a detailed reply, denying the allegations as baseless and factless and saying he supported his rebuttal with evidence.

Agrawal’s appointment addresses the immediate question of who will lead the Rajasthan High Court on a full-time basis. It does not, however, settle Mehta’s separate request concerning Sharma’s transfer. The other newly appointed chief justices are Justice V Kameswar Rao in Patna, Justice Ravindra V Ghuge in Calcutta, Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi in Bombay, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra in Punjab and Haryana, Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra in Chhattisgarh, Justice Alpesh Yashwant Kogje in Madhya Pradesh, and Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

favouritism

· Justice Sandeep MehtaOne of the allegations Justice Mehta made against Rajasthan acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.
About this summary

Originally published by Hindustan Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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