The Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the appointment of Justice Sanjay K Agrawal of the Chhattisgarh High Court as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court. It has also proposed his immediate transfer to the Rajasthan High Court while the process for his appointment as Chief Justice is pending.
Under the proposal, Justice Agrawal would join the Rajasthan High Court as its senior-most judge even if the formal process for his appointment as Chief Justice takes time. If appointed, he will take charge as the regular Chief Justice of the High Court.
Justice Agrawal is currently a judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court. He was elevated as an Additional Judge in September 2013 and became a permanent judge in March 2016. Before joining the Bench, he had served as the Advocate General of Chhattisgarh.
Developments at Rajasthan High Court
The Collegium’s move comes amid developments concerning Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, who has faced protests from lawyers at the Jaipur and Jodhpur benches of the Rajasthan High Court.
Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta recently wrote to CJI Surya Kant seeking Justice Sharma’s transfer out of Rajasthan and the appointment of a regular Chief Justice from another High Court. Justice Mehta raised allegations concerning the Acting Chief Justice’s exercise of administrative powers and the listing of cases.
Lawyers at both benches have also been protesting and demanding that Justice Sharma be relieved of his charge as Acting Chief Justice.
Acting Chief Justice Opts Out of Judicial Work
Justice Sharma, meanwhile, opted out of judicial work on Sunday. The fresh roster finalised by him does not assign any regular judicial sitting to the Acting Chief Justice between September 1 and September 5.
Cases that had earlier been assigned to his Bench have been redistributed among other Benches.
