On last day of work, judge courted controversy
Soft-spoken and unassuming by nature, Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma courted few controversies in a legal career spanning nearly four decades. It was, therefore, ironic that he should make a series of claims about celibate peacocks and supernatural cows on his last day of work – drawing ridicule from many quarters of the society.
During a court hearing on Wednesday, the 62-year-old judge suggested that the government declare the cow as India’s national animal and adopt provisions to sentence those indulging in its slaughter to life imprisonment. While these observations were contentious, they did not create a huge splash in the media. It was Justice Sharma’s posthearing interaction that turned him into an instant celebrity.
The high court judge told reporters that the peacock impregnates the peahen by letting her drink his tears, and spoke at length on how cows exhale oxygen and absorb cosmic energy – among other seemingly fantastic claims.
Justice Sharma – popularly known as the Dausawala judge among his colleagues (because he hails from Dausa in Rajasthan) – launched his legal career in 1979. He enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Rajasthan on January 7 that year, and went on to represent entities such as the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh Trust and Rajasthan State Mineral Development Corporation.
After successfully practising in trial courts and the Rajasthan HC, he was appointed as the additional advocate general of Rajasthan in 2000. He was appointed as a HC judge on July 5, 2007.
Justice Sharma said he decided 1,12,054 cases until May 18, a “record for any high court judge”. Among cases heard by him were petitions related to red sanders smuggling by Delhibased Anil Gadodia and the ₹1,000-crore Syndicate Bank fraud.