New Delhi: A group of advocates gathered outside the Rajasthan High Court premises and raised slogans against Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma.
“Gali gali mein shor hai, hamara mukhiya chor hai (There is noise in every street, our leader is a thief),” they chanted.
Lawyers at the High Court’s Jodhpur and Jaipur benches were on strike on 31 August following recent letters written by Supreme Court Justice Sandeep Mehta to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, accusing the acting chief of unfairly changing the order in which cases were listed and misusing his administrative powers.
Justice Mehta also asked the CJI to immediately appoint a Chief Justice from another state to lead the Rajasthan High Court.
The protest has since gone viral online. Videos circulating from the site show advocates raising slogans against Justice Sharma. However, the administration and police dispersed the protesting lawyers from the court premises soon after the demonstration began.
Earlier this month, CJI Surya Kant, in a press statement, said that the collegium was looking into the allegations. He added that Justice Sharma would be allowed to explain his side before any final decision was made.
“Any decision regarding the continuation, transfer or other administrative action concerning the acting Chief Justice would be taken by the competent institutional authority after due consideration of the material. The Supreme Court cannot allow individual complaints concerning judges to be determined through competing claims in the media,” the statement read.
Lawyers who participated in the protest called for an immediate investigation into the matter.
“This matter and the allegations against the Acting Chief Justice should be investigated soon, with an immediate response from the CJI,” a Rajasthan High Court advocate told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity, adding, “Such incidents weaken people’s faith in the law.”
In an official notice from the Bar Association, Jaipur, it announced a one-day boycott/abstention from judicial work by advocates on 31 August 2026.
Bar associations in Jodhpur and Jaipur are also holding several formal meetings to decide their course of action over the matter.
However, the letters written by Justice Mehta to CJI Surya Kant on 2, 10 and 17 August are not publicly available.
Soon after the protest, members of the Jodhpur Bar Association also held a meeting to discuss the future course of action by the advocates.
“We are discussing what action we can take further. If needed, we will conduct another protest tomorrow,” said an advocate from the Jodhpur Bar Association.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)