Behind the angry chorus of the political establishment today —against judges’ assets not being made public — and the judiciary’s apparent reluctance is a telling reversal of roles.
There was just a hint from the Congress here on Monday that it would be willing to try and evolve a political consensus on the deferred Judges (Declaration of Assets and Liabilities) Bill before it was introduced, after the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left insisted that the Bill would be meaningless unless the controversial confidentiality clause was removed.
Politicians today united against a bill that would prevent judges’ assets from being made public, forcing the government to back off from tabling it.
Government on Monday deferred the introduction of Judges' Assets Bill in Rajya Sabha after the Opposition including the Left Front objected to the Bill.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform has called for effective consultation before the proposed Bill making it mandatory for High Court and Supreme Court judges to declare their assets was finalised.
Eminent jurists, social activists and human rights activists came together on Friday to demand substantive change in the Centre's proposed legislation on declaration of assets by judges of the higher judiciary saying it would serve no purpose unless they were forced to make it public.
In India from times immemorial Judges have been held in highest esteem and revered as super humans. But of late there are instances of corruption infecting the judicial system also. There is a great danger that such instances can erode the faith that people have in the Judiciary. As a result judicial decisions might be looked upon with suspicion.
The Chief Justice of India and the Supreme Court cannot be two distinct entities, the Central Information Commission has held directing the registry of the apex court to provide information to an RTI applicant even if it is held by the office of the Chief Justice.
Several eminent jurists and rights activists on Friday demanded that the prop disclosure of assets to make it more transparent.
For the first time, the government has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to provide details on the status of its probe into the serious allegations of corruption against former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Y.K. Sabharwal.