'Licence to hit sixes': Justice Sandeep Mehta says Rajasthan HC's acting CJ misused power

The internal war in the higher judiciary has intensified, with the senior Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta once again writing a fourth consecutive letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant against Rajasthan High Court's acting chief justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, levelling fresh charges of interfering in an internal judicial enquiry and certain other misconducts.

In his latest (Fourth) letter written on August 30, Justice Mehta, a former judge of the Rajasthan High Court, has levelled fresh charges against Justice Sharma, of allegedly interfering in an internal judicial enquiry, breaching confidentiality and abusing administrative powers.

Quoting CJI Surya Kant's earlier remark that judges should not try to "hit sixes" before retirement, Justice Mehta wrote in a reference, "Justice Sharma seems to be possessed of a licence to hit sixes ever since he took over as Acting Chief Justice."

According to sources in the Supreme Court registry, the enquiry relates to allegations that a judicial officer displayed indecent photographs of a lady judicial officer on his phone. A committee was formed, but Justice Sharma allegedly interfered and leaked confidential proceedings.

Justice Mehta had earlier also written similar letters on August 2, 10 and 17 accusing Justice Sharma of serious misconduct of "maladministration, malpractices, nepotism and favouritism."

Justice Sharma, however, termed these allegations as baseless and proceeded on leave after advocates staged a protest outside his court.

Justice Mehta also said he received several complaints which "raise doubts" on Sharma's integrity. He alleged Sharma was shifting cases involving rich and influential litigants to his own bench, intimidating colleagues with threats of transfer, and indulging in favouritism towards chosen lawyers.

In his August 2 letter, Mehta said Rajasthan HC was without a regular chief justice for over 10 months, enabling Justice Sharma to exercise extensive administrative powers without institutional stability.

He alleged that Justice Sharma frequently told colleagues about his closeness to the CJI to threaten them. Justice Sharma was appointed to Rajasthan HC in November 2016, transferred to Patna in January 2022, his plea for repatriation on health grounds was rejected in March 2023, and he was sent to Punjab and Haryana HC. In May 2025, he returned to Rajasthan.

On August 26, the CJI confirmed the allegations are being examined thoroughly. Last Monday, the Supreme Court collegium recommended Justice Sanjay Kumar Agarwal as Chief Justice, replacing Sharma. He took the oath on Monday from Governor Haribhau Bagde.