What's New

Holding Justice to Account.

Relevance

• GS Paper 2 Structure, Organization and Functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government.
• Tags: #Assetdeclaration #Judicialtransparency #CodeofEthics #IndianExpressEditorialAnalysis.

Why in the News?

In a report presented to Parliament, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice suggested that judges of the Supreme Court and high courts be required to disclose their assets, much like politicians and bureaucrats. The system will only become more credible and trustworthy as a result of the judges of the higher judiciary declaring their assets, it was underlined.

Annual Asset Declaration Requirement: A Brief Overview

• In India, individuals in public roles are required to share information about their assets annually.
• This rule applies to civil servants, constitutional authorities like the Comptroller and Auditor General are following a Code of Ethics, which involves publishing their latest asset declarations on their official websites
• Council of Ministers guided by the Code of Conduct for Ministers from the Ministry of Home Affairs, also reveal their assets
• Members of Parliament are likewise obligated to share information about their assets and debts within 90 days after taking their oath. They must also communicate any changes to this information by June 30 each year
• This disclosure helps promote transparency and accountability.

Judges and Asset Declaration: The Background

When it comes to judges of the Supreme Court and high courts in India, there was no official requirement for them to declare their assets. However, the Supreme Court took certain steps to encourage transparency and ethical conduct among judges.

Adoption of “The Restatement of Values of Judicial Life”

• On May 7, 1997, all the judges of the Supreme Court came together for a full Court meeting.
• During this meeting, they introduced a resolution named “The Restatement of Values of Judicial Life.”
• This resolution aimed to establish specific principles that judges of both the Supreme Court and high courts should follow in their professional lives.
• Mandatory Asset Declaration à This resolution set forth an important rule: all judges, including chief justices, of the Supreme Court and high courts must declare their assets and liabilities.
• Declaration of Asset should happen twice—first at the time of their Appointment and then every year at the beginning of the year. This rule was designed to ensure transparency and accountability.

Step Towards Public Disclosure

• On August 26, 2009, a full bench of the Supreme Court took another significant step. They decided that judges’ asset declarations should be made public.
• This meant that the information about judges’ assets would be made available on the official website of the Supreme Court.

 Voluntary Public Disclosure

• Same Bench of Judges altered their stance afterward.
• On September 8, 2009, they concluded that the declaration of assets could be posted on the website at the Judges’ Discretion.
• This indicated that judges had the freedom to decide if they wanted to reveal their asset details on the website on or before October 31, 2009

Current Asset Declarations’ Status

• At this time, just 55 judges have elected to share their wealth disclosures, according to the Supreme Court’s website, on March 31, 2018, the most recent update was made.
• This demonstrates that not all judges have taken the initiative to make their asset disclosure public.

Situation in High Courts

• The situation is a little different when it comes to high courts.
• On their websites, just 5high courts have made this data accessible.
• Only a few of the judges involved in these cases have revealed their asset statements.

A Key Moment in 2010: The Introduction of the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill

• The government introduced a bill called the “Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill.” aimed to set up a proper system for handling complaints made by individuals against judges.
• This system would recommend the right actions to take in response to these complaints.
• Additionally, the bill wanted judges to declare what they owned (assets) and what they owed (liabilities), so that there would be more openness about their financial situation.
• On top of that, the bill aimed to establish clear standards of behavior that judges should follow.

Replacing the Old Act

• Before this bill, there was an older law called the “Judges Inquiry Act 1968.”
• The new bill was supposed to replace this old law, but it would still keep some of the basic ideas from it.
• The Bill, however, was not reintroduced by the government because it expired with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.

Public’s Right to Know: Elections and Judges

• The Supreme Court determined that the Public has a right to know the assets of candidates for MPs or MLAs.
• By the same reasoning, judges also serve as public officials, and litigants have every right to be aware of their assets.
• This will promote trust and confidence in the legal system.

Mandatory Asset Declaration for All Public Officials

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice has recommended that all public officials who are paid by the government should be required to submit annual declarations of their assets, regardless of their position.
• The committee came to this conclusion after considering the fact that the Supreme Court has ruled that the public has a right to know the assets of those standing for elections as MPs or MLAs.
• The committee also argued that asset declaration is necessary to prevent corruption and ensure that public officials are accountable to the public.

Arguments against Asset Declaration

• Some people argue that asset declaration is an Invasion of Privacy.
• Others argue that it could Make Judges Vulnerable To Threats And Intimidation.

Options for making asset declaration mandatory

• In order to make asset declaration necessary, the Government may alter the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act 1954 and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act 1958.
• A new law requiring judges to declare their assets may potentially be introduced by the administration.
• As an alternative, the Supreme Court Collegium may create a system that would make judges disclose their assets once a year.

Latest data on asset declaration by Indian MPs in 2022

The data was released by the Election Commission of India (ECI)

• The data shows that the average assets of an MP in India is ₹10.7 crore (US$135 million).
• The richest MP is Naveen Jindal, the owner of Jindal Steel and Power, with assets worth ₹82 crore (US$106 million).
• The Poorest MP is K. Chandrashekar Rao, the Chief Minister of Telangana, with assets worth ₹1.5 crore (US$190,000).

The data also shows that the assets of MPs have increased significantly in recent years

• In 2014, the average assets of an MP was ₹5.9 crore (US$78 million).
• This means that the assets of MPs have increased by 84% in the last eight years.

The increase in the assets of MPs has been attributed to a number of factors, including

• The Rising cost of living
• The Increase In Salaries And Allowances Of Mps
• The investments made by MPs in real estate and other assets

Transparency is the cornerstone of trust in any democratic institution, including the judiciary. As India moves forward, the path that leads to mandatory annual asset declaration by judges of the Supreme Court and high courts will contribute to a judicial system that is transparent, accountable, and truly representative of the people’s interests.

Source: Indian Express.

Mains Question

Explain the significance of asset disclosure in public governance in India. How does this practice contribute to transparency and accountability among public functionaries?