NEW DELHI, Aug. 31 -- Rajasthan High Court acting chief justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma has opted out of judicial work till September 5, amid an escalating controversy over allegations of "corruption", "nepotism" and "favouritism" levelled against him by Supreme Court judge Justice Sandeep Mehta and protests by lawyers in Jaipur and Jodhpur seeking his removal as acting chief justice.

A modified roster issued on Monday evening under Justice Sharma's endorsement said he would not sit on any bench till September 5. The high court website attributed the change to the "non-sitting of Hon'ble the Acting Chief Justice", with matters earlier assigned to his bench being distributed among other benches.

The development came hours after the Rajast...