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‘Don’t treat judges like politicians on assets issue’

The HC was hearing a petition filed by the SC challenging the CIC's direction to reveal information about assets declared by judges of the top court before the CJI.

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The Delhi high court observed on Tuesday that judges should not be treated like MPs, legislators and other representatives of the people on the issue of assets declaration, because such information may be misused.

“Public interest standards for the judiciary have to be different from other institutions. So judges have to be treated differently from people’s representative on the issue (declaration of assets),” justice S Ravindra Bhat said. He was responding to a Right to Information (RTI) applicant who contended that judges should declare their assets like MPs and MLAs.

It may be noted that the Supreme Court itself held in the Justice Veeraswamy corruption case that apex court  judges are public servants.

The high court said on Tuesday the judiciary should be liberated from fear as personal information about judges may be misused if divulged under RTI Act.

“Judges have to work according to law and without fear. For proper functioning of the judiciary, it has to be liberated from all kinds of fear. The election commission and other such institutions are vibrant because they are independent,” justice Bhat observed.

The RTI applicant who had sought information on judges’ assets, however, said revealing such information will not affect transparency and independence of judicial system.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by the Supreme Court, challenging a January 6 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC). The panel had directed the apex court to reveal information about assets declared by its judges before the chief justice of India (CJI).

The high court had on January 19 stayed the order of the CIC in which the commission held that the office of the CJI came within the ambit of the RTI Act and information given to the CJI had to be revealed to the applicant.

Earlier, at a formal meeting apex court judges offered to disclose their assets and the CJI also said it could disclose the information sought by the information commission provided the RTI was suitably amended.

Joining the debate that sparked off after the information commission’s order and judges’ reaction to it, former chief justices MN Venkatachaliah and JS Verma said:  “It’s shocking.” They had recommended to the prime minister that the reinstatement charter should be codified into a law and said the disclosures made by judges to the CJI fall within public domain.
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