# SC judge asks CJI to replace Rajasthan HC acting chief for favouritism 2026-08-26T04:26:30+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta has written three letters to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant seeking the immediate replacement of Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, accusing him of favouritism, maladministration and misuse of office. The letters, dated August 2, 10 and 17, 2026, were reported by livelaw.in, barandbench.com and The Hindu on August 26. Justice Mehta alleged that Justice Sharma manipulated case listings in favour of wealthy litigants, threatened colleague judges with transfer citing closeness to the CJI, and victimised judicial officers. He cited a complaint that the acting chief held up the inauguration of a new Jodhpur court building for a year on his "whims and caprices." Another complaint alleged Justice Sharma used his position to secure Lok Adalat appointments for persons close to him, including a childhood friend. Justice Mehta noted the collegium had in March 2023 refused Justice Sharma's repatriation to Rajasthan, yet he was allowed to return in May 2025 and has served as acting chief for over ten months. "Continued ignorance of the request is wholly against the interest of the institution," Justice Mehta wrote. Justice Sharma is due to retire on September 26. ## Indian Opinion Analysis All three sources report the same facts without slant: a serving Supreme Court judge has made detailed allegations against a High Court acting chief, and the CJI has not yet acted. The uniformity of coverage reflects the gravity of a judge publicly questioning another judge's integrity, a rare event. The story now hinges on whether the collegium replaces Justice Sharma before his September 26 retirement or lets him complete his term. That decision will signal how the higher judiciary handles internal accountability. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - livelaw.in (neutral report) Straight news agency style: leads with the letters, reports allegations without editorialising - barandbench.com (neutral report) Straight reporting, leads with the request and details allegations without slant - thehindu.com (neutral report) Straight reporting, leads with the ignored appeals framing but stays factual This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-26T07:37:07+00:00. Tags: Rajasthan High Court, Sandeep Mehta, Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, Supreme Court, Surya Kant Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-judge-seeks-removal-of-rajasthan-high-court-acting-cj/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/supreme-court-judge-seeks-removal-of-rajasthan-high-court-acting-cj/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/