Issue 51 Vol III, November 15, 2007

L A W  &  J U S T I C E

Hon’ble Judges please disclose your assets
Joginder Singh Toor

A good public image is a prerequisite for an impartial, honest discharge of public duty for all the wings of the State. The image of a judge has to be par excellence because justice is not only to be done but seen to be done, by a person who in the public eye is beyond suspicion.

It is of-course impertinent to ask anyone to show as to how much money he has got in his purse but when the purse in pocket is bulky than the pay packet, and the person happens to be a public servant, it is the duty of the State to ask him to show and if the delinquency appears to be wide spread, rules need to be framed to keep a check.

Service conditions of government employees require them to file each year a statement of assets and properties which are compared with the properties mentioned in his statement filed at the time of joining service and if the acquisitions thereafter are beyond his known legitimate sources, he or she is guilty and liable to be punished. Disproportionate wealth in the pocket is corruption. It is simple and clear.

Government servants are public servants as ministers and judges of high court or the Supreme Court but service conditions for each are different because their nature of work, qualifications, service tenure, perks and allowances.

The service conditions of judges of the high courts and of the Supreme Court do not require them to disclose their assets. The fact that there is corruption in judiciary  is admitted not only by the Government of India, but the top judiciary itself too. There has been a consistent public demand for imposing the same condition of disclosure of assets by Judges as in the case of other public servants. There being no legislative provision in this regard hence at a meeting on May 7, 1997 chaired by the Chief Justice of India J.S.Verma and attended by 22 Supreme Court Judges a resolution was unanimously passed stating , “Even Judge should make a declaration of all assets in the form of real estate or investments held in their name or their spouse and any person dependent upon them, to the Chief Justice.”

Among the Judges who attended the 1997 meeting were Justices M.M.Punchhi, A.S.Anand, S.P.Barucha, B.N.Kirpal and V.N.Khare, all were later  elevated as Chief Justices of India. The Government of India decided to introduce a Judges Inquiry Bill, 2006 in Parliament after consulting top jurists including some CJIs. A majority of who had expressed helplessness in dealing with corruption in judiciary.

Law Minister H.R.Bhardwaj in a recent statement publicly admitted, “Judiciary enjoys the confidence of the people and works in a transparent manner. However, since some cases of judicial corruption have come to light, it is for the judiciary itself to act and improve its image. No one from outside – neither the Executive nor the Legislative can do this.”

Law Minister was on record saying, “successive Chief Justices have said there was no law to deal with judicial corruption. One of them said ‘one third of the country’s Judges were corrupt’ and it was a serious issue, the other said ‘in the absence of any law to deal with this menace, he was helpless.’

A code of conduct evolved in 1993 by the judges themselves exists since 1993 but according to the Minister it was not operational and pure adhocism prevailed. Some cases of judicial misconduct were taken up, while others were not because there was no clarity due to lack of law.

The Judges Inquiry Bill, 2006 provides that not only the assets of Judges but also those of their family would have to be declared to the Chief Justice.

The Judges of the Highest Court of India, in 1997, consisting of top incumbents, having adopted the resolution, a decade later 11 High Courts have, in response to the Parliamentary Standing Committee letter seeking the views of the High Courts on the Judges Inquiry Bill, 2006, rejected the provision regarding disclosure of the assets and want it to be withdrawn from the Bill. 8 High Courts have not bothered to respond to the Parliamentary Standing Committee which was of the view that “since the sitting Judges of the Supreme Court and all the High Courts are stake holders in the proposed Bill, it has been decided to call for their views.” In response 7 High Courts including Allahabad, Calcutta, Punjab & Haryana, Gujrat, Chhatisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkam have unanimously opposed the Bill. 8 Judges of the Madhya Pradesh High Court alone have written to the Chief Justice opposing the Bill. Only Orissa has expressed willingness but with some changes. Andhra Pradesh High Court evaded by refusing to give its opinion saying “it was not proper for a High Court to give any view on the proposed legislation of Parliament.”

It is beyond the comprehension of a common man that the institution which they keep in high esteem, and the incumbents of the institution who owe a solemn duty under an oath to deliver justice without fear and favour, are reluctant to clear their image in the public eye, are keen to keep themselves away not only from public scrutiny but public duty also to be above suspicion.

The former Chief Justice of India J.S.Verma who had moved 1997 resolution is of the view that “an affective mechanism for enforcing judicial accountability is the need of the hour. Therefore, opposition to the Bill is unexplained and does not matter. If the Judges had started to declare their wealth way back in 1997 though for a short period only, there is no excuse for not doing it now. If candidates contesting elections is required to declare his or her assets, why the Judges be kept out of it.” He asks.

The pubic opinion, the admission of the government and even that of some of the chief justices about prevailing  corruption in judiciary to an intolerable  extent, it is incumbent upon the Parliament to legislate so as to make the requirement of declaring assets imperative. This is the only way to protect the image of the judiciary and the public confidence.

[The author is a senior lawyer based at Chandigarh, jogindersingh_toor@yahoo.com]

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