Only 12% of the judges of the High Courts have declared their assets, My Lord, when will the rest do it?
#News Bureau April 7,2025
Out of the 769 judges currently working in 25 High Courts of India, only 95, i.e. a mere 12.35%, have publicly declared their assets and liabilities. This figure has given rise to a serious debate on the issues of transparency and accountability in the judiciary. The report also states that recently all 33 judges of the Supreme Court have decided to make their assets public, which is a positive step. But this situation remains worrying in the High Courts.
A report states that some High Courts have performed better in terms of asset declaration. Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are prominent among them.
Kerala High Court: 41 out of 44 judges (93.18%) have declared their assets. This is a great example in the country.
Himachal Pradesh High Court: 11 out of 12 judges (91.66%) have disclosed their assets.
However, this situation is not uniform across all high courts. The Delhi High Court archive lists the asset declarations of 64 former judges, many of whom have retired, been transferred, or been elevated to the Supreme Court. Some of these declarations date back to February 2010, indicating that information on former judges is more available than that of currently serving judges.
The Supreme Court recently took a major step towards transparency. In a full court meeting held on April 1, 2025, all 33 Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, decided to make their assets public. This information is now available on the official website of the Supreme Court. This decision marks a significant change from the practice where asset declaration was entirely at the discretion of the judges.
In August 2023, a standing committee of Parliament submitted a report titled “Judicial Processes and their Reforms”. The report called upon the government to make legislative changes to make annual asset declaration mandatory for all judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. The committee believed that this would increase transparency and accountability in the judiciary. However, no concrete steps have been taken in this direction yet.
Unlike other public servants in India, there is no legal obligation on judges to make their assets public. In 1997, in a meeting chaired by the then CJI J.S. Verma, the Supreme Court passed a resolution stating that every judge should declare his assets, the assets of his spouse, and the assets of dependents to the Chief Justice. However, this was not for public declaration.
In 2009, the Supreme Court decided that the assets of judges could be published on the website with their consent, but it would be completely voluntary. After this, some high courts also adopted this practice, but it was not widely implemented.
There are currently 39 judges working in the Delhi High Court, but only 7 have declared their assets. Recently, the case of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Verma has made this issue more serious. The debate on transparency and allegations of corruption has intensified after reports of sacks of cash found at his residence. However, the Supreme Court has now transferred him to Allahabad High Court. Where he has assumed office but the court has not assigned him any work or cases for hearing.
Only 12.35% of the judges in the High Courts have declared their assets, which shows that transparency in the judiciary is still a challenge. The recent decision of the Supreme Court is a positive step in this direction, but strong policies and laws are needed to implement it in the High Courts. Implementing the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee and making asset declaration mandatory can be an important step in this direction. This will not only increase the confidence of the public, but will also strengthen the impartiality of the judicial system.
If the government wants, it can take three steps immediately for this. The government should immediately act on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee. A uniform policy should be implemented in all the High Courts. Asset declaration should be made mandatory instead of voluntary. When some High Court judges have declared their assets, then why are the rest not doing so. The Supreme Court should direct them for this.
