{"id":45567,"date":"2025-03-29T07:23:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T01:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=45567"},"modified":"2025-05-06T21:28:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T15:58:52","slug":"judges-asset-disclosure-in-india-norms-legal-standpoint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/judges-asset-disclosure-in-india-norms-legal-standpoint\/","title":{"rendered":"Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure in India: Norms &#038; Legal Standpoint"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure India Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Supreme Court\u2019s Position on Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure<\/li>\n<li>Situation in High Courts Regarding Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure<\/li>\n<li>Public Servants and Asset Disclosure<\/li>\n<li>Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure India FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure India Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The discovery of large sums of cash at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma has raised concerns about corruption in India\u2019s higher judiciary.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This incident has strengthened calls for public disclosure of judges\u2019 assets and liabilities, which, unlike other public servants, they are not obligated to reveal\u2014and most have not done so.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Supreme Court\u2019s Position on Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1997 Resolution<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 1997, under then CJI J S Verma, the Supreme Court adopted a resolution requiring judges to declare their assets, including those of their spouses and dependents, to the Chief Justice.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>However, this did not mandate public disclosure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>2009 Resolution<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In September 2009, the SC full Bench decided to publish judges&#8217; asset declarations on its website, but only on a voluntary basis.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>These disclosures appeared in November 2009, and some High Courts followed suit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lack of Updates Since 2018<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The SC website has not been updated since 2018.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It only lists the judges who have submitted declarations to the CJI without publishing the actual disclosures.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Former judges\u2019 declarations have also been removed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>2019 RTI Case and SC Ruling<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that judges&#8217; assets and liabilities do not qualify as \u201cpersonal information.\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This case originated from an RTI request filed in 2009 by an activist to verify if SC judges had disclosed their assets as per the 1997 resolution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Situation in High Courts Regarding Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Low Compliance with Public Disclosure<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>As of March 1, 2024, only 97 out of 770 High Court judges (less than 13%) have publicly declared their assets.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>These judges belong to seven High Courts: Delhi, Punjab &amp; Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madras, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Karnataka.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Most High Courts oppose public disclosure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Resistance from High Courts<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2012, the Uttarakhand High Court passed a resolution strongly objecting to judges\u2019 asset disclosure under the RTI Act.<\/li>\n<li>The Allahabad High Court rejected an RTI request for judges&#8217; asset details, claiming it was outside the RTI Act\u2019s scope.<\/li>\n<li>Similar denials came from Rajasthan, Bombay, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gauhati, and Sikkim High Courts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Parliamentary Committee\u2019s Recommendation<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2023, Parliament\u2019s Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, and Law and Justice recommended a law mandating the disclosure of Supreme Court and High Court judges\u2019 assets.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>However, no legislative action has been taken so far.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Public Servants and Asset Disclosure<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mandatory Asset Declarations<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Unlike judges, most public servants are required to declare their assets, with this information often being publicly accessible.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The RTI Act of 2005 has played a crucial role in ensuring transparency and accountability in government operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>RTI\u2019s Role in Public Disclosure<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Government officials must annually declare their assets to their respective cadre-controlling authorities, and in most cases, these details are available in the public domain.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Several states, including Gujarat, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh, have strict provisions mandating asset declarations by bureaucrats, which can be accessed through RTI applications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ministers and MPs<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Since 2009, it has become standard practice for Union Ministers, including the Prime Minister, to submit asset declarations to the PMO, which are accessible via its website.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Many state governments have followed this practice.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>MPs submit their asset details to the Speaker (Lok Sabha) or Chairperson (Rajya Sabha), and while not publicly available by default, they can generally be accessed through RTI applications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Asset Disclosure for Election Candidates<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Candidates contesting elections for Parliament, State Assemblies, or Legislative Councils must publicly declare their assets and liabilities as part of the nomination process.<\/li>\n<li>This requirement was established by a 2002 Supreme Court ruling mandating asset disclosure for electoral candidates.<\/li>\n<li>These declarations are the most detailed among public servants, and even minor errors can lead to the rejection of a candidate\u2019s nomination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Judges\u2019 Asset Disclosure India FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Are Indian judges required to disclose their assets?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>No, judges are not legally obligated to publicly disclose assets, though voluntary disclosures exist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> When did the Supreme Court adopt asset disclosure norms?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>In 1997, the SC required judges to declare assets privately to the Chief Justice but did not mandate public disclosure.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong> What did the Supreme Court rule in the 2019 RTI case?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>The SC ruled that judges&#8217; asset details are not &#8220;personal information&#8221; and should be disclosed under RTI.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong> How many High Court judges publicly disclosed assets in 2024?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>As of March 1, 2024, only 97 of 770 judges (about 13%) have publicly declared their assets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong> Do election candidates in India disclose assets?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>Yes, candidates for Parliament and State Assemblies must declare assets and liabilities during nomination per a 2002 SC ruling.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/what-are-the-norms-surrounding-disclosure-of-judges-assets-9912159\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/m.economictimes.com\/news\/india\/parliamentary-panel-to-govt-bring-law-to-make-it-mandatory-for-judges-to-disclose-assets-annually\/articleshow\/102509563.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ET<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Learn about India\u2019s judicial asset disclosure norms, Supreme Court resolutions, RTI rulings, and transparency concerns in high courts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45567","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}