Responding to Supreme Court judge Sandeep Mehta’s letters levelling allegations against Rajasthan HC Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Wednesday said allegations against a sitting judge must be dealt with “strictly through established institutional mechanisms”.CJI Kant, who is on a four-day visit to Germany and the UK, issued a statement that the allegations against the Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice cannot by itself be treated as a finding against the judge and that he must be given a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations.He said “the contents of the letters cannot be adjudicated in the public domain and that the judge concerned must be given a fair opportunity to place his response before any conclusions are reached. The fact that allegations have been made, therefore, cannot by itself be treated as a finding against the judge.”The CJI emphasised that the Supreme Court cannot allow individual complaints concerning judges to be determined through competing claims in the media.The CJI said the matter was being examined at the appropriate level and the process will take into account the material placed by Justice Mehta as well as the response of Justice Sharma.“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 CJI said in a statement.Noting that he has already taken note of the concerns raised in the letters written by Justice Sandeep Mehta, Justice Kant said he and the other members of the Collegium were already working on the appointment of Chief Justices in the remaining High Courts.Accusing Rajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma of misusing his administrative powers and manipulating case listings to favour “rich litigants”, Justice Sandeep Mehta of the Supreme Court has urged Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to replace him “with immediate effect” with a Chief Justice from another state.