A new law that will come up before the Cabinet will make it mandatory for judges to declare their assets and liabilities.
However, unlike what we see with political candidates during elections, these will not be opened up for public scrutiny. Judges' non-compliance of filing the assets will be seen as a breach of the code of conduct.
Under the new law, judges will have to declare their income every year only to the Chief Justice of India or the Chief Justice of the High Court. If they don't do so, action can be taken against them.
The information could be used if there is an inquiry or investigation being conducted against a judge, but the information will remain confidential known only to their bosses.
"We have to ensure the safeguards for the judges from public litigants and others," said Law Minister Veerappa Moily.
The government has gone one step further in protecting its judiciary. Any attempt by an individual or agency to make any judge's assets public could land them in jail for up to three years. With this new legislation judges are effectively out of the ambit of the
Right to Information Act.
"This is still a dispute and being discussed by the court," said Moily.
The government has done a tough balancing act to safeguard the interests of the judiciary.
