Lawyers’ associations at the Rajasthan High Court’s principal seat in Jodhpur on Monday (August 31, 2026) decided to abstain from work till September 6, with the demand that Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma be relieved of his judicial and administrative responsibilities.
The move came after letters by a Supreme Court judge to the Chief Justice of India became public.
A section of lawyers at the High Court’s Bench in Jaipur sat in protest outside Justice Sharma’s court and raised slogans amid concerns raised in the letters of Justice Sandeep Mehta over the alleged “misuse of powers”. As several lawyers could not enter the courtroom during the agitation, police were called in to disperse the protesting lawyers.
The High Court Advocates’ Association and the High Court Lawyers’ Association in Jodhpur announced after an emergency meeting that the lawyers would boycott work till September 6 to protect the “dignity and independence” of the judiciary and maintain public confidence in the justice delivery system.
In addition to the demand to keep the Acting Chief Justice away from duties, the charter sought the appointment of a permanent Chief Justice and immediate discontinuation of the “targeted file system”.
High Court Lawyers’ Association president Dilip Singh Udawat said a struggle committee of lawyers had been formed to decide the future course of action. The decision to abstain from work depicted an escalation of the controversy surrounding Justice Sharma, as Justice Mehta had sought his transfer while alleging “misuse of powers, favouritism, nepotism, and administrative lapses”.
The High Court Bar Association in Jaipur decided to send a “strongly worded” memorandum to CJI Surya Kant, raising the issues mentioned in Justice Mehta’s letters. “We will request the CJI to complete the inquiry in a fixed timeframe and make the findings public,” Association president Rajeev Sogarwal said.
