Amid ‘Corruption, Nepotism’ Row, Centre Appoints Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal as Rajasthan HC Chief Justice

The Centre on Saturday night notified the appointment of eight new chief justices to various high courts, including Justice Sanjay Kumar Agrawal as chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court, amid a controversy surrounding acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.

The appointment comes after Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta accused Justice Sharma of “corruption”, “nepotism”, “favouritism” and misuse of administrative powers.

Justice Agrawal’s appointment is expected to pave the way for the Rajasthan High Court to have a regular chief justice after nearly a year. It could ease one aspect of the controversy, although Justice Mehta’s separate request for Justice Sharma’s transfer out of Rajasthan remains pending.

The Centre’s notification came four days after the Supreme Court collegium recommended Justice Agrawal, currently a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court, for the Rajasthan post. The collegium had separately recommended his transfer from Chhattisgarh to Rajasthan to facilitate his appointment.

The other appointments notified on Saturday are Justice V Kameswar Rao as chief justice of the Patna High Court, Justice Ravindra V Ghuge as chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi as chief justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Krushna Ram Mohapatra as chief justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court, Justice Alpesh Yashwant Kogje as chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, and Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati as chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

What triggered Rajasthan HC controversy?

Justice Agrawal’s appointment assumes significance against the backdrop of three letters Justice Mehta wrote to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on August 2, 10 and 17.

In the letters, Justice Mehta levelled allegations of corruption, nepotism, favouritism and administrative impropriety against Justice Sharma and sought his transfer out of Rajasthan. He also urged the CJI to appoint a regular chief justice from another high court.

The CJI has indicated that allegations against a sitting judge would have to be dealt with through the established institutional mechanism and that Justice Sharma must be given an opportunity to respond.

Justice Sharma has since submitted a detailed response to the CJI, rejecting the allegations as baseless and without factual foundation. He has also said his rebuttal is supported by evidence.

The appointment of Justice Agrawal addresses the immediate issue of appointing a full-time head for the Rajasthan High Court. However, it does not by itself resolve the separate issue raised by Justice Mehta regarding Justice Sharma.

Justice Sharma’s transfer out of Rajasthan has not so far been considered by the collegium, while the allegations against him remain under institutional consideration.

Justice Agrawal’s appointment comes ahead of Sharma’s retirement

Justice Agrawal’s move to Rajasthan comes at a significant juncture. He was appointed acting chief justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court following the retirement of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha on September 4, pending completion of the process for his transfer to Rajasthan.

Justice Sharma has been serving as acting chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court since September 2025 and is due to retire on September 26.

The appointment of a regular chief justice before his retirement would end the Rajasthan High Court’s prolonged period under an acting chief justice, while the separate institutional proceedings concerning the allegations against Justice Sharma would continue to be handled by the CJI and the collegium.