HC refuses to divulge assets of judges

Shibu Thomas, TNN, Nov 21, 2010,

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has told a city advocate who filed a Right To Information (RTI) application, seeking details of HC judges' assets and liabilities, that it was not possible to "furnish" the same.

The application had been filed by lawyer Mathews Nedumpara.

"I have to inform you that information regarding declaration of assets of the honourable judges of the Bombay high court is with the Chief Justice in a fiduciary capacity," said U S Srivastava, the master and assistant prothonotary (administration) who has been designated as the public information officer under the RTI Act.

Nedumpara was informed that the question - whether the RTI law applied to information with the Chief Justice - was sub judice. He was also told the Supreme Court had earlier stayed the order of the chief information commissioner and the Delhi high court to disclose assets of judges with the Chief Justice.

"In view of the interim stay order of the Supreme Court, the information sought for is not furnished to the applicant," Srivastava said in her reply.

Bombay HC judges have been declaring their individual assets to the Chief Justice since 1997. Interestingly, in September 2009, judges of the Bombay HC had decided through a unanimous resolution of the full court to make their assets public. Judges from the high court's other benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa had participated in the meeting via a video-conference link. The information, however, has not been made public as yet.

Last year, the SC had put details of its judges' assets online. Other high courts of Kerala, Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir followed suit.

While making the details public, the apex court said the judges would not entertain queries relating to their assets and liabilities and how their wealth increased or decreased. "Our Constitution guarantees independence of judiciary and the effort was to keep it free from the executive. Making assets public ensures transparency," said Nedumpara, who plans to file an appeal and move the National Information Commission.

The Bombay HC has directed the advocate to approach the registrar (inspection) if he felt aggrieved by the reply and wished to file an appeal.