Now Reading: CJI says allegations against judge cannot be treated as finding
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CJI says allegations against judge cannot be treated as finding
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday said allegations made by Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta against Rajasthan High Court acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma cannot by themselves be treated as a finding. The CJI said the matter is being examined through the established institutional mechanism and the concerned judge must get a fair chance to respond.
Justice Mehta had written three letters to the CJI alleging maladministration, corruption, nepotism and misuse of roster powers by Justice Sharma, including manipulation of case listings in favour of rich litigants. He urged the collegium to appoint a chief justice from another high court to Rajasthan immediately. The CJI said the collegium is already working on filling chief justice vacancies in remaining high courts.
Times Now reports that Justice Mehta's letters also invoke a recent Supreme Court observation about judges passing orders for extraneous reasons on the eve of retirement. Any decision on Justice Sharma's continuation or transfer will be taken by the competent institutional authority after considering all material, the CJI added.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Hindustan Times and Times Now both lead with the CJI's due-process caution, while Times Now also foregrounds Justice Mehta's dramatic 'licence to hit sixes' charge. Deccan Herald offers the briefest neutral note, omitting the letters' specifics entirely. The CJI's statement itself, that allegations alone are not a finding, is the core institutional position. What remains unaddressed is whether the collegium will act before Justice Sharma's retirement next month, the deadline that drove Justice Mehta's urgency.
Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (3): hindustantimes.com (neutral report), deccanherald.com (neutral report), timesnownews.com (sensationalist)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
