Guest (Guest) 04 September 2009

Madras HC judges also to declare assets

The Madras High Court announced that its judges would declare their assets. The decision was taken this evening in a full court meeting Chaired by Chief Justice H L Gokhale. The meeting decided that the details of the assets would be submitted to the Chief Justice before October 31. The details would be put on the official website of Madras High Court later, the meeting decided. Madras High Court would become the fifth in the country to make public the assets of its judges. All the High Court judges who participated in the meeting, debated the issue and took the decision to disclose their assets. The administrative committee comprising the top seven judges of the High Court had already discussed the issue on Tuesday last. The judges of Delhi, Kerala and Punjab and Haryana High Courts had already decided to disclose their assets on their websites. The Registrar General of the Kerala High Court has even specified that the details would be posted on the website on September 30. Bombay High Court judges had also decided to follow suit. The Supreme Court’s 1997 resolution on declaration of assets, circulated to all High Courts, was adopted by the Madras High Court only in 2008.

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Guest (Guest) 04 September 2009

Madras HC judges decide to declare assets

Judges of the Madras High Court on Thursday unanimously agreed to disclose their assets by October 31 and have the details put on the court's website thereafter. The modalities of the declaration are likely to be decided after the Supreme Court takes a decision.

A brief statement announcing the decision was made by chief justice HL Gokhale, moments after he emerged from a full court meeting of all judges on Thursday evening. The resolution, however, will not be binding on the subordinate judiciary, he added.

Madras High Court becomes the fifth court in the country to put asset-related details of its judges in its website. Already, the high courts of Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Haryana, and Maharashtra have declared that they would disclose the assets of their judges. Kerala High Court has said the information would be available on its website from September 30 onwards.

If the judges' resolution was unanimous, the response of top Bar leaders to the development too was equally unanimous.

RC Paul Kanagaraj, president of the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA), said the judges' voluntary disclosure of assets reflected the moral authority and uprightness of constitutional functionaries. "The Bar welcomes the gesture, as it will add to judicial transparency. Similar openness should be ensured in appointment of judges as well," Paul Kanagaraj said, adding, "judges should now be insulated from harassment by unscrupulous elements."

S Prabakaran, president of the Tamil Nadu Advocates Association (TNAA), said, "the subordinate judiciary too must take the cue from the Supreme Court and Madras High Court, and voluntarily disclose assets. All India service officials in IAS and IPS too should come forward to declare details, either in their respective departments or in a national directory specially created for the purpose," Prabakaran said.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) member R Dhanapalraj said it was the responsibility of the judges to declare assets and that there was no need for any new law for the purpose. He, however, says there is no need to bring it under the ambit of the Right To Information (RTI) act, which, according to him, is being used to blackmail bureaucrats. "That should not be allowed to happen to judicial officers, otherwise it will adversely affect the independence of the judiciary.

M Velmurugan, MHAA secretary, said: "We welcome it. The move will add to the credibility of the institution. This will also reinforce the public faith in our judicial system."

Anil Agrawal (Retired) 04 September 2009

I fail to understand how the wheels of justice will move efficiently or faster if HC judges declare their assets. For more than 200 years, no such demand was raised and heavens did not fall. Nor by declaration of assets heavens will fall. Out of nothing such issues are raised with which the general public is the least concerned. What is sought to be achieved by this exercise? It is futile and of academic exercise. Neither any good will come out nor is sought.