Supreme Court judges have opted to release their asset declarations to the public, marking a move towards transparency and enhancing public trust in the judiciary.
According to sources, the judges reached their decision on April 1, during a meeting of the entire court.
During the meeting, the judges agreed to reveal their assets to the Chief Justice of India.
The announcements will be posted on the official website of the Supreme Court as well.
The report mentioned that the exact methods for publishing the judges’ asset declarations will be determined in due time.
Significantly, all Justices of the Supreme Court have already filed their asset declarations. Nonetheless, these statements have not been released to the public.
The action follows shortly after the Law Ministry in Parliament responded to inquiries regarding assets held by judges.
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The Ministry stated that the asset declaration process is entirely voluntary, in accordance with the rulings of the Supreme Court’s Constitution bench.
Nevertheless, the government had informed Parliament on March 27 that the Centre did not keep any record of judges’ assets.
The development follows the recent scandal regarding the alleged find of charred bundles of money from the official home of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma, after a fire occurred there.
Subsequently, the law ministry released a notice regarding Justice Varma’s transfer.
Meanwhile, Justice Varma rejected any suggestions and claimed that no money was ever put in the storage area of his home by him or any of his relatives.
