|
My Lord, how much do you own? We
need to know, please
WSN Network
 New Delhi: Shaming
the resistance from within the Indian judiciary at the highest
levels, a number of eminent citizens from various walks of life have
now appealed to Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan and judges
of the Supreme Court and High Courts to voluntarily disclose their
assets to advance the cause of transparency and probity in public
life.
In an appeal sent to the CJI and other judges the signatories
pointed out that in 1997, while adopting the “Restatement of
Judicial Values” (also called the code of conduct), the judges of
the Supreme Court decided that each judge would declare his/her
assets in confidence to the CJI. This was reiterated in 1999 in a
conference of the Chief Justices. These resolutions were adopted in
the light of a growing public perception that there was lack of
accountability of the higher judiciary. This was also in line with
the requirement of declaration of assets by all civil servants to
the government.
The statement said: “The rationale given by the Supreme Court
for the need for disclosure of assets of candidates contesting
elections would equally apply to all public servants occupying
crucial positions of authority. In any case, with the Right to
Information Act, 2005, now in place, it is clear that the disclosure
of assets by public servants to the government or to any other
authority would be accessible to the citizens under the RTI Act. The
exemption from disclosure under the RTI Act would not apply to
disclosure of assets of public servants.
“Several eminent former judges and Chief Justices of the
Supreme Court, including Justice Krishna Iyer and Justice J.S. Verma,
have publicly expressed the view that it would be desirable for
judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts to publicly declare
their assets. By doing so, they would be setting an example of
transparency in the country which would then be emulated by other
public servants. Such voluntary disclosure of assets by judges
[without resort to the RTI Act] would be applauded as an act of
statesmanship by the people of this country, at a time when people
have become cynical about the integrity of public servants. It would
greatly advance the cause of transparency and probity in public
life.
“We therefore call upon you to set an example for public
servants by voluntarily making public your asset declaration.”
The signatories are: Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, former Chief of
the Naval Staff and Director, Transparency International, India,;
Aruna Roy, founder, MKSS and RTI and NREGA activist; Ramaswamy R.
Iyer, former Secretary, Water Resources; Vikram Lal, Chairman,
Common Cause; Madhu Bhaduri, former ambassador; Amit Bhaduri,
Professor Emeritus, JNU; Anil Sadgopal, education activist and
former Professor of Education, Delhi University; Jean Dreze, former
Member, National Advisory Council; Vandana Shiva, education and
agriculture activist; Trilochan Sastry, Professor and Dean,
Academic, IIM-Bangalore; Yogendra Yadav, Professor, CSDS; Prashant
Bhushan, convener, Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform;
Arvind Kejriwal, Magsaysay awardee and RTI activist; N. Bhasker Rao,
Chairman, Centre for Media Studies; Harsh Mandar, Director, Centre
for Equity Studies; Ravi Chopra of the People’s Science Institute;
Kamini Jaiswal, advocate, Supreme Court; Shabnam Hashmi of ANHAD;
Mira Shiva, health activist; Kavita Srivastava, secretary, PUCL
Rajasthan; Gautam Navlakha, human rights activist; Nikhil Dey of the
National Campaign for People’s Right to Information; Arun Kumar,
Professor of the JNU; and Dunu Roy, Director, Hazard Centre.
18
February 2009
|
Read Also