NEW DELHI, APRIL 11 2025 — In a landmark move to restore public trust and enhance transparency, the Supreme Court of India has announced that all serving judges, and those appointed in the future, will publicly disclose their assets and liabilities on the official Supreme Court website.
This decision follows allegations involving Justice Yashwant Varma, after a fire at his Delhi residence allegedly revealed a large stash of unaccounted cash, igniting public outrage and prompting the apex court to act.
HISTORY OF VOLUNTARY DECLARATIONS
Judicial asset disclosure is not a new conversation. In 1997, the Supreme Court adopted a resolution titled “Restatement of Values of Judicial Life”, requiring apex court judges to declare their assets to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), and High Court judges to their respective Chief Justices. However, these disclosures were not made public and required annual updates.
In 2009, the Court, under public pressure, allowed judges to voluntarily disclose their assets to the public. Yet, compliance remained low.
HOW MANY JUDGES DISCLOSE THEIR ASSETS TODAY?
An independent review as of April 11, 2025, paints a concerning picture:
- Only 11.94% of all sitting judges in India have made their asset declarations public.
- While 30 out of 33 Supreme Court judges have submitted their disclosures to the CJI, the details are not yet visible on the Court’s website, reportedly due to technical issues.
- Among the 762 High Court judges, just 95 (12.46%) have disclosed their assets publicly.
HIGH COURTS WITH AND WITHOUT ASSET DISCLOSURES
Courts with No Asset Information:
Eighteen High Courts, including:
- Allahabad High Court (81 judges)
- Bombay High Court
- Calcutta High Court
- Gujarat High Court
- Patna High Court
…have no asset data published on their official websites.
Courts Leading in Transparency:
- Kerala High Court: 41 out of 44 judges (93%)
- Himachal Pradesh High Court: 11 out of 12 judges
- Punjab & Haryana High Court: 30 out of 53 judges
- Delhi High Court: 7 out of 36 judges
- Madras High Court: 5 judges
- Chhattisgarh High Court: 1 judge
WHAT THE LAW SAYS ABOUT JUDICIAL ASSET DISCLOSURES
Currently, there is no legal mandate requiring judges to publicly disclose their assets. The Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958 and High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954 do not contain any such provision.
All current declarations are made voluntarily based on internal resolutions of the judiciary.
THE UNFINISHED LEGISLATIVE ATTEMPT: THE 2010 BILL
The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill introduced by the UPA government in 2010 sought to mandate judges to disclose the assets of themselves, their spouses, and children.
The Bill was intended to replace the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968 but lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha and has not been reintroduced since.
PARLIAMENTARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANDATORY DISCLOSURES
A parliamentary standing committee on personnel, public grievances and law and justice, in August 2023, emphasized the need for legislation:
“Anybody holding public office and drawing a salary from the exchequer should mandatorily furnish annual returns of their property.”
It questioned why judges should be exempt, especially when the Supreme Court had previously upheld the public’s right to know about the assets of MPs and MLAs.
“As the last resolution of the Supreme Court on the declaration of assets by Judges on a voluntary basis is not complied with, the Committee recommends the Government to bring about appropriate legislation to make it mandatory for Judges of the higher judiciary (Supreme Court and High Courts) to furnish their property returns on an annual basis to the appropriate authority.”
GOVERNMENT AND SC’S RESPONSE TO THE COMMITTEE
On March 27, 2025, in response to a question by RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, the Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed the Rajya Sabha that the government had raised the issue with the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court formed a judicial committee to review the matter and reported that the issue had already been addressed in a 2020 Constitution Bench ruling, stating that the procedure followed was in conformity with judicial precedent.
The committee proposed that:
“The official website of the Supreme Court should display the name of the judges, who have made declaration of assets to the Chief Justice.”
The Chief Justice of India approved this proposal and the names of judges who have complied are now publicly listed on the apex court’s website.
CONCLUSION
The Supreme Court’s decision marks a crucial step toward institutional transparency and restoring public faith in the judiciary. However, with only a fraction of judges disclosing their assets, especially in High Courts, the move must be backed by legislative reforms to ensure uniform, mandatory compliance across the country.
