Delhi HC brings judiciary under RTI purview Putting an end to the CIC Vs judiciary tussle, the Delhi High Court has ruled that judges in India should declare their assets under the RTI Act
Published on 9/2/2009 5:22:35 PM New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has upheld a Central Information Commission (CIC) order that judges should declare their assets and the office of the Chief Justice of India would be the public authority to assess those assets. In a historical judgement on Wednesday, Justice S Ravindra Bhat said judges are accountable but they are also subjective to some constraints, reports IANS. "The dignity of the judges adds value to the democracy," Bhat said. He, however, added that, "Judges are under public attack and revealing of assets and other information may increase the reputation of the judges." The judge also noted that the office of Chief Justice of India is a public authority and it is well within the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. "Chief Public Information Officer of the Supreme Court shall release the information about the declaration of the assets to the petitioner within four weeks of time," he said. The court refused to comment on the recent development of declaration of assets by judges of various state high courts. The Delhi High Court had on May 4 this year had reserved its order on an apex court plea challenging CIC's order that judges declare their assets. Earlier, Solicitor General GE Vahanvati had contended before Justice Bhat that disclosure of information on personal assets by judges will affect the independence of the judicial system. "If we introduce transparency to an extent which would disturb the working of the judges, then it would affect the independence of the judicial system," Vahanvati had said. http://www.igovernment.in/site/Delhi-HC-brings-judiciary-under-RTI-purview/Default.aspx My comments on the news item: Kudos to Justice S Ravindra Bhat for this historic judgment bringing the Chief Justice of India under the purview of RTI. This is a victory for democracy in India after 62 years of independence. Transparency and accountability should be the hallmark of any democracy and every citizen should be bound by the rule of law. As rightly stated by the Hon. Judge, "The dignity of the judges adds value to the democracy. Judges are under public attack and revealing of assets and other information may increase the reputation of the judges." Kris Dev RTI Activist
