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New Delhi: Over two months after they decided to make public their assets, all but one judge of the Supreme Court, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI), on Monday posted a list of their assets on the apex court’s website.
The only judge whose asset details were not posted — Justice H S Bedi — is learnt to have informed the CJI that he would do so in the next few days as his mother passed away on October 17.
The declaration of assets has been done as per the format adopted at the full court meeting of the Supreme Court on May 7, 1997.
The total strength of the apex court bench is 21, including the CJI. Among those who declared their assets is recently retired Judge B N Agrawal, who retired on October 15. Details of his assets were put on the website on his special request.
So far, only judges of the Kerala High Court and the Karnataka High Court have declared their assets.
The issue of declaration of assets by members of the superior judiciary has been a matter of controversy after the CJI said a few months ago that there was no law that made it mandatory for judges to make their assets public.
However, bowing to public pressure, including by sitting judges and former CJI J S Verma, as well as politicians, the Supreme Court finally decided on August 26 to make public their assets.
However, sources in the apex court said the SC would continue to contest the judgment of a single judge of the Delhi High Court that said the office of the CJI was bound to make public details of assets submitted to it by judges as per the Right to Information Act.
The issue of declaration of assets by the judges first hit headlines after RTI activist Subhash C Agarwal’s plea in this regard was turned down by the apex court in November, 2007.
On January 6, 2009, the Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the SC to disclose information on judges’ assets on the ground that CJI’s office fell under the purview of the RTI Act.
However, the SC decided to challenge the CIC decision in the Delhi High Court, which, however, upheld the CIC decision. In its appeal, the SC has asserted that declaration of assets by its judges to the CJI was “personal” information which could not be revealed under the RTI Act.
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