Supreme Court Judges Unanimously Agree to Publicly Disclose Assets

New Delhi: In a significant move toward greater transparency, all 33 sitting judges of the Supreme Court have unanimously decided to publicly disclose their assets by uploading the details on the court’s official website. The decision was made during a full court meeting held on April 1 and will also apply to future judges.

The resolution comes amid growing scrutiny over judicial accountability, particularly after allegations of unaccounted cash being found at the residence of Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting judge at the Allahabad High Court.

 

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Previously, while judges were required to disclose their assets to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) under a 1997 resolution, making these details public was optional. The 2009 full court resolution had encouraged judges to voluntarily publish their asset details online, but compliance remained inconsistent.

The 2009 decision to publish asset details on the Supreme Court’s website was a response to mounting public and internal pressure for judicial transparency. However, until now, judges had the discretion to decide whether to make their disclosures public. The latest resolution makes this disclosure mandatory, marking a major step forward in ensuring accountability within the judiciary.

This move is expected to bolster public trust in the judiciary by ensuring greater openness in the functioning of the nation’s highest court.