Rajasthan High Court lawyers continue strike despite Collegium recommendation

The Rajasthan High Court Advocates’ Association in Jodhpur said it would proceed with its strike on Tuesday but would meet later in the day to review the agitation after the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the appointment of a new chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court.

The Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, on Monday recommended justice Sanjay K. Agrawal of the Chhattisgarh High Court for appointment as chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court.

The decision came hours after acting chief justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma went on leave following a protest by a group of lawyers outside his courtroom at the high court’s Jaipur Bench. The protest related to allegations about judicial administration and the listing of cases raised against him by Supreme Court judge Sandeep Mehta.

While lawyers demonstrated outside the Jaipur courtroom on Monday, their counterparts at the principal seat in Jodhpur announced a week-long strike beginning Tuesday. They had demanded that justice Sharma not be appointed as the permanent chief justice.

Rajasthan High Court Advocates’ Association president Ranjeet Joshi said the strike would be observed on Tuesday as planned, although the association would decide its future course at a meeting later in the day.

“Justice Mehta raised issues that needed to be raised. I had also earlier written to the CJI in this regard. We had demanded that Justice Sharma should not be made permanent chief justice,” Joshi said.

“Since our demand has now been met, we will hold a meeting during the day and take a decision. The strike, however, will continue today,” he added.

Normal court functioning was expected at the Jaipur Bench on Tuesday, according to Rajasthan High Court Bar Association president Rajeev Sogarwal.

“Advocates have no personal animosity with Justice Sharma. It is good that the Supreme Court took up the matter and took steps to resolve the issue. This will help restore normalcy,” Sogarwal said, welcoming the incoming chief justice.

The controversy arose after Justice Mehta wrote three letters to CJI Kant accusing the Acting Chief Justice of “gross maladministration”, misuse of administrative authority and favouritism. His allegations also concerned the exercise of administrative powers and the listing of cases.

Justice Mehta had sought Justice Sharma’s transfer from Rajasthan and the appointment of a regular chief justice from another high court.

Indresh Sharma, a lawyer practising at the Jaipur Bench, also welcomed the Collegium’s recommendation, saying the immediate issue had been brought to a close.

He cautioned that controversies involving the judiciary could damage its standing and erode public trust. “When such issues arise, the image of the judiciary suffers and a negative perception is created among people. They may then begin viewing even high court judgments through that perception and questioning them,” he said.

Sharma stressed the need to safeguard both the judiciary’s reputation and public confidence in the institution.

The Collegium has also recommended Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati, the second senior-most judge of the Rajasthan High Court, for appointment as chief justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Justice Agrawal’s parent court is the Chhattisgarh High Court, while Justice Bhati belongs to the Rajasthan High Court.

Referring to Justice Bhati’s proposed appointment outside Rajasthan, Sharma said several questions and considerations were involved and that the facts should be examined carefully before conclusions were reached.

With PTI inputs