The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended Justice Sanjay K Agrawal of the Chhattisgarh High Court as the next Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court. It has also proposed his immediate transfer to the Rajasthan High Court, pending his formal appointment as Chief Justice, Live Law reported.
The move would allow Justice Agrawal to join the Rajasthan High Court as its senior-most judge while the process for his elevation is completed. The Collegium issued its recommendation on August 31.
Who Is Justice Sanjay K Agarwal?
Justice Agrawal was appointed an additional judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court in September 2013 and became a permanent judge in March 2016. Before joining the bench, he served as the Advocate General of Chhattisgarh.
The recommendation comes amid a controversy involving the Rajasthan High Court's acting Chief Justice, Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.
Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta had written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant seeking Justice Sharma's transfer out of Rajasthan and the appointment of a regular Chief Justice from another High Court. In his letter, Justice Mehta raised allegations relating to Justice Sharma's exercise of administrative powers and the listing of cases.
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Justice Mehta had written a series of letters raising allegations of maladministration, noting Justice Sharma had been acting CJ for over ten months.
The controversy triggered protests by lawyers at both the Jaipur and Jodhpur benches of the Rajasthan High Court, with the Bar demanding that Justice Sharma be divested of his charge as acting Chief Justice.
Justice Sharma subsequently opted himself out of judicial work, with a fresh roster assigning him no regular sitting from September 1 to September 5. he is due to retire on September 26.
If the Central government clears the Collegium's recommendation, Justice Agrawal will take over as the regular Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.
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