Time For Disclosure

Transparency within the judiciary serves at least two important purposes — it decreases the opportunities for corrupt practices and promotes public confidence in the institution. Given these vital roles, it is surprising that there should be stiff judicial resistance to making public whether members of the higher judiciary are submitting declarations about their financial assets as they are expected to. Such declarations after all were supposed to be made to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justices of the respective high courts in accordance with a 1997 resolution adopted at an all-India judges conference. Against this background, it is inexplicable that the Supreme Court should block the Central Information Commission's order asking it to provide this information to an applicant under the Right to Information Act. The Court's decision to challenge the order in the Delhi High Court — high courts are the final court of appeal under the RTI Act — is both unprecedented and, under the circumstances, quite unnecessary. It would have been far more sagacious had the Court simply made the information — which the CIC rightly described as "innocuous" — available. As the CIC order pointed out, the appellant was not seeking details of the declared assets but just "the simple information as to whether any such declaration of assets etc. has ever been filed by the judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts." Why is a Supreme Court that held that people have the right to know the financial assets of MPs and MLAs at the time of filing nominations so reluctant to answer even this limited question? The Court's appeal is based on the contention that the disclosure of assets by judges to the Chief Justice of India is voluntary and not mandated by any law. Moreover, the office of the CJI cannot be construed as a public authority under the RTI Act. The thrust of the appeal suggests a general anxiety over a larger question — if and to what extent the standards of information disclosure mandated by parliament are applicable to the judiciary. This is a complex issue that needs to be settled to ensure transparency even while safeguarding judicial independence. Transparency and accountability in the judiciary, however, are larger issues that go well beyond the question of the applicability of the RTI Act. Since he assumed office, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan has earned a well-deserved reputation of being responsive to public and professional concerns. He needs to ensure that not just the answer to the question whether all the judges have declared their assets but also the details of the assets themselves are placed in the public domain. Such transparency will enhance the credibility of the judiciary as an institution.

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