Justice Nirmal Yadav of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who earlier said Rs.15 lakh in cash delivered at the residence of Justice Nirmaljit Kaur in Chandigarh on August 13 last was not meant for her, has requested Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan to supply statements of witnesses to enable her to give a final response to the show-cause notice.
Eminent citizens from various walks of life have appealed to Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan and judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts to voluntarily disclose their assets to advance the cause of transparency and probity in public life.
Remember Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta High Court? The one who, as a receiver in 1993, was to collect Rs 50 lakh in a dispute between two parties but deposited it in his own account?
Information commissioners have chosen not to disclose their own assets' declaration on the CIC's website, in a development which may cause many to wonder whether the transparency watchdog has trouble following what it preaches to others.
THE RIGHT to Information Act, 2005 has changed the relationship of the people with the Indian state.
SOON after assuming office, President Barack Obama promised unprecedented transparency in the United States administration (http://recovery.gov/). Meanwhile, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, the Chief Justice of India, sought an exemption for his office from the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
The High Court in New Delhi is so behind in its work that it could take up to 466 years to clear the enormous backlog, the court's chief justice said in a damning report that illustrates the decrepitude of India's judicial system.
The Tribune; Feb 2, 2009
Stung by the criticism of judges' refusal to disclose their assets, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan has convened a Full Court meeting for next week to ascertain the views of brother judges on the need for making public the assets declared by judges to the CJI.
After having completed its preliminary inquiry into the cash-at-thedoor case against a judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court, the CBI has now sought the Chief Justice of India's permission to register a regular case.