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Sanjay Agarwal takes charge as Rajasthan HC Chief Justice, restricts roster for acting CJ's bench
Justice Sanjay Kumar Agarwal issued the roster order hours after taking oath, assigning work to four benches at the Jaipur court.
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The newly appointed chief justice of the Rajasthan High Court Sanjay Kumar Agarwal on Monday restricted outgoing acting CJ justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma’s division bench to hearing appeals against orders of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), hours after taking oath earlier in the day.
HT has seen the order, which also assigns work to three other benches of the Jaipur High Court. Till now, the division bench led by justice Sharma was entrusted with hearing a wide range of important cases at the Jaipur bench with Sharma functioning as master of the roster.
New CJ begins tenure at Jodhpur principal seat
Justice Agarwal began his first day in office at the high court’s principal seat in Jodhpur, where he sat on a division bench with justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and heard cases.
A senior office-bearer of the Bar Association familiar with the matter said the change may be linked to the controversy regarding justice Sharma’s tenure. The Supreme Court’s justice Sandeep Mehta wrote three letters to CJI Surya Kant dated August 2, 10 and 17, seeking the immediate transfer of justice Sharma out of Rajasthan and the appointment of a chief justice from another state. Justice Mehta alleged that justice Sharma misused his powers as master of the roster, selectively shifted cases from other benches to his own court and passed orders that raised questions over integrity of the decision-making process.
Also read: Justice Sanjay K Agrawal sworn in as Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice
In a fourth letter dated August 30, justice Mehta accused justice Sharma of interfering in an internal judicial enquiry, breaching confidentiality and abusing administrative powers.
