Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal sworn in as 44th chief justice of Rajasthan High Court

Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal was sworn in as the 44th Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan on Monday.

Rajasthan governor Haribhau Kisanrao Bagde administered the oath of office in the presence of chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, deputy chief ministers Diya Kumari and Premchand Bairwa, members of the state Cabinet, judges and senior administrative officials.

Justice Agrawal, who previously served at the Chhattisgarh High Court, signed the presidential warrant of appointment after taking the oath, formally completing the process of assuming office. The Union government had notified his appointment following a recommendation by the Supreme Court Collegium.

Chief secretary V. Srinivas and outgoing acting chief justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma were among those present at the ceremony.

Justice Agrawal’s appointment comes amid controversy surrounding Justice Sharma’s tenure as acting chief justice. Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta had written a series of letters to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant alleging misuse of administrative authority, irregularities in the listing of cases, favouritism and maladministration.

Justice Sandeep Mehta had sought Justice Sharma’s transfer and the appointment of a regular chief justice from another High Court.

The controversy prompted protests by sections of lawyers at the Jaipur and Jodhpur benches, with demands that Justice Sharma be removed from the administrative charge of acting chief justice.

Justice Sharma rejected the allegations, describing them as baseless and motivated by personal animosity. He said he had presented his response and supporting material to the Chief Justice of India. He subsequently stopped holding court and is scheduled to retire later this month.

Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court Collegium on 31 August recommended Justice Agrawal’s transfer from the Chhattisgarh High Court and his appointment as Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.

The appointment formed part of a wider judicial reshuffle under which the Centre notified eight new High Court chief justices. The changes mean that all 25 High Courts in the country now have regular chief justices.

As chief justice, justice Agrawal will lead the Rajasthan High Court’s judicial and administrative functioning, including the allocation of cases and supervision of its institutional operations.

With PTI inputs