Judges must publicly declare their assets

The action of the Supreme Court of India , in contesting in the Delhi High Court, the order of the Chief Information Commissioner, under the provisions of the Right to Information Act,  directing the Registrar of the Supreme Court to furnish the details of the assets of the High Court and Supreme Court judges ,is raising quite a few eyebrows.

The Delhi High Court, on 19th January 2009, while granting stay of the order of the Chief  Information Commissioner, had requested noted jurist Mr.Fali Nariman, to act as amicus curie.

Mr. Fali Nariman has refused to act as amicus curie, on the ground that his views on the judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court declaring their assets is well known.  Mr. Fali Nariman has repeatedly opined that judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court should declare their assets on assumption of office and continue to annualy declare their assets.

The Chief Justice of India, appears to have taken the view that the office of the Chief Justice is not a “Public Authority” and therefore not amenable to the  provisions of the Right to Information Act.

While, the Chief Justice of India may be legally right in taking such a view, Judicial pundits are debating as to whether the Supreme Court could have displayed greater judicial statesmanship and provided the details of the assets of the judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court, instead of getting entangled in the nitty gritty of the law.

The image of the judiciary will be considerably enhanced if the judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court publicly declare their assets and continue to file annual declaration of assets.

The reluctance of the judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court to publicly declare their assets will give rise to a lot of doubts in the minds of the public.

The moral authority of the the High Courts and Supreme Court judges gets eroded if they are perceived as being above the law and not subject to the same yardsticks as are applied to civil servants and ministers, who are obliged to declare their assets either at the time of their entry into civil service and at the time of contesting the elections.  This simple norm should apply with equal force to the judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court.

The greatness of an institution lies in  its ability to inspire confidence in the minds of the people.   Legal skulduggery is no substitute for the trust of the people, and transparency is the hallmark of a modern state.