New Delhi: A day after Supreme Court judges agreed to make their assets public, how that would work is what the government and legal experts are investigating.
The apex court has said that its website will show the breakdown of assets for each judge, and every time a judge acquires a new asset, his net worth will be updated.
But this decision is not binding on High Court judges. And there's no decision yet on whether judges who go public with their wealth can be questioned about how or where they earned it.
But for now, the government is relieved with the Supreme Court's decision, which ends a bitter confrontation between Parliament and the judiciary. "Judges are the best judge", beams Veerappa Moily, Law Minister. MPs from different parties were opposed to a bill which said the wealth of judges would not be made available under the Right to Information Act. The war ended with the government withdrawing the Judges Assets and Liability Bill.
Now the government will introduce a comprehensive bill for judicial accountability, which will include the disclosure of judges' assets.
The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reform welcomes these new steps, but cautions, "The main problem is the lack of an independent credible institution to look into complaints against judges, investigate them and take action."
Legal experts are now waiting to see what High Court judges decide on the same issue.