New Delhi: All 33 sitting judges of the Supreme Court have decided to make their property public by publishing them on the apex court website.
A resolution was adopted to ensure that this practice would also apply to future judges.
“The full court of the Supreme Court had pledged that judges should announce their assets on handling the office, and whenever there is an adequate nature acquired for the Chief Justice, it also includes declaration (s) by the Chief Justice of India. The announcement of the property on the Supreme Court website will be placed on a voluntary basis.”
It was decided weeks later that a large amount of cash was allegedly recovered from the residence of Justice Yashwant Verma, the then Delhi High Court, which was later transferred to the Allahabad High Court. Recent concerns on transparency in the judiciary also affected the decision.
The Supreme Court first agreed to publish the property of judges after public and internal pressure in 2009. On 26 August that year, the court decided to share these details on its website.
The 2009 decision was based on an earlier resolution passed in 1997, in which the Supreme Court judges needed India’s Chief Justice (CJI) to disclose their assets. While this disclosure was mandatory for CJI, making information public was optional.
