Chief Justice of India wants Judges to disclose assets

"The CJI has written to chief justices of all high courts to consider adopting the apex court judges' practice of declaring their assets at the time of their appointment and every year subsequently," said a Supreme Court official, as reported by NDTV/IANS

nder mounting pressure for more probity and transparency in the judiciary, Chief Justice of India (CJI) K G Balakrishnan has written to all high courts across the country to consider adopting the apex court judges' practice of declaring their assets.


Supreme Court judges have been declaring their assets since 1997 to the CJI at the time of their appointment as an apex court judge and thereafter every year as per a resolution passed by the apex court on May 7, 1997.

"The High Court judges may consider adopting a similar resolution in case it does not have a system of judges declaring their assets soon after the assumption of office and regularly updating the declaration made by them," said Balakrishnan in his letter to High Court chief justices.

The CJI wrote, "It is essential for an independent, strong and respected judiciary and indispensable for impartial administration of justice."

In his letter, Balakrishnan also called upon the High Court judges to adopt what is known as "restatement of values of judicial life" adopted by the apex court in another resolution earlier.

The CJI described the "restatement of values of judicial life" as "the pre-existing and universally accepted norms, guidelines and conventions" governing judicial conduct and behaviour.

The CJI has sought declaration of assets by High Court judges in the face of mounting pressure upon the Indian judiciary to ensure greater probity, transparency and purity in judicial conduct.

Responding to a question on declaration of judges' assets during a recent conference of apex court judges, Balakrishnan had said, "At the time of their appointment, every Supreme Court judge has to declare his assets. Thereafter, if any property is purchased, he has to give the information to me in a sealed cover."

"This must be the case with High Court judges (who would furnish the information to the chief justice of the High Court concerned)," he said.

The Bar Association of India (BAI) also wants declaration of assets by judges, saying that it would enhance their dignity greatly.

To Sting or not to Sting

A Supreme Court judge on Friday defended the use of sting operations by journalists to expose corruption in the society, reports the TOI

During the hearing of a case a relating to a sting operation against former Union Minister and BJP leader Dilip Singh Judeo, Justice Markandey Katju said: “I totally agree with sting operations. There should be more sting operations. Corrupt elements can be brought to light by these sort of operations.”

Katju said those carrying out stings cannot be treated as criminals. “This is only to expose corruption in society. How can they be equated with criminals?” he asked.

Katju’s remarks contrast the approach of another bench headed by Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, which has been insisting on an “unconditional apology” from a TV channel reporter who exposed corruption in subordinate courts in Gujarat through a sting operation.

The reporter had obtained bailable warrants from an Ahmedabad court against four prominent persons including then President APJ Abdul Kalam and then Chief Justice of India in 2004.

However, Justice Altamas Kabir, who headed the Bench dealing with the Judeo case, said there was a flip side to the sting operations that was evident in the case of Delhi schoolteacher Uma Khurana.

Source : Times of India

you can leave your views by commenting on this post - The Question is "Sting Operation - Good or bad"

HC dismisses plea against RCom and Tata Tele

The Delhi High Court today provided relief to Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices when it dismissed a petition filed by rival mobile telephone service operators that had sought to block their entry into GSM mobile services, reports the Business Standard

Both Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices had started out with CDMA services but subsequently wanted to expand into the more popular GSM space.

Over two-thirds of the country’s 30 million mobile phone users are on the GSM platform. The average revenue per GSM user is about 30 per cent higher than that of a CDMA user.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Idea Cellular, Spice Telecom and their lobby group, the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI), had challenged the government’s decision to allow these two companies to use both CDMA and GSM technology platforms for their services. >> Read complete news