Supreme Court judges will soon publicly disclose their assets, a decision made on April 1. Currently, judges report assets only to the CJI, not publicly. A 2009 move allowed voluntary disclosure, but updates stopped in 2018. A 2023 committee recommended mandatory disclosure, but no law has been enacted yet.
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Judges of the Supreme Court will soon make their assets public, the decision is taken at a meeting of the full court on April 1.
Judges don’t have to share their financial details with the public, unlike politicians and government officials. However, Judges are supposed to declare their assets to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), but this is not made public.
In 1997, the Supreme Court decided that judges must tell the CJI about their property, investments, and other financial details. However, this information stays private—it’s not shared with the public.
There was a small change in 2009. The Supreme Court agreed to publish judges’ asset declarations on its website—but only if the judges wanted to do so voluntarily. Some judges did share their details, but the website hasn’t been updated since 2018.
Most High Court judges don’t share their financial details publicly. Out of 770 judges across all High Courts, only 97 judges from seven courts have done so. For example, judges from the Delhi, Madras, and Karnataka High Courts have declared their assets, but judges from many other courts haven’t.
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A parliamentary committee suggested in 2023 that a new law should make it mandatory for judges to disclose their assets. However, no action has been taken yet. |
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