The Supreme Court has initiated steps to publicly disclose the asset declarations of all its judges on the court’s official website. This development comes in the wake of the controversy surrounding Justice Yashwant Varma, who is at the centre of a massive controversy after burnt cash was found at his official residence in Delhi.
In an unprecedented move, all Supreme Court judges, in a full court meeting on April 1, unanimously agreed to declare their assets to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and ensure these declarations are uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website.
Under existing rules, judges are required to declare their assets to the Chief Justice upon assuming office. However, there has been no mandatory requirement for public disclosure. The Supreme Court’s website already contains a section dedicated to judges’ asset declarations, but this section has not been consistently updated in recent years.
The Supreme Court’s decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of judicial integrity following the controversy involving Justice Yashwant Varma. On Friday, the Supreme Court clarified that Justice Varma would not be assigned any judicial work when he assumes his new position as a judge of the Allahabad High Court.
Earlier that day, the central government issued a notification transferring Justice Varma from the Delhi High Court to the Allahabad High Court. The transfer followed allegations linked to the discovery of a massive sum of burnt cash at his official residence after a fire broke out on March 14.
The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, had earlier recommended Justice Varma’s transfer to the Allahabad High Court. The collegium clarified that the transfer was independent of the in-house inquiry initiated against him.
Last week, Chief Justice Khanna set up a three-member committee to investigate the allegations against Justice Varma and directed the Delhi High Court’s Chief Justice not to assign him any judicial work. Consequently, Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya withdrew all judicial responsibilities from Justice Varma pending further orders.
