Judges have pushed hard for publishing assets of politicians – but have exempted themselves

The Indian judiciary has long enjoyed a reputation of honesty, especially compared to politicians. This impression exists in parallel to the fact that Indians are terrified of actually going to court, given the low expectation of honest justice from the judicial system.

This paradox is slowly crumbling with recent accusations of corruption against judges. On March 14, for instance, wads of unaccounted cash were allegedly discovered at the house of a Delhi High Court judge, Yashwant Varma.

Till now, the judiciary had shielded itself from corruption investigations. But in the wake of the Verma controversy, judges are scrambling to manage public perception of themselves. On April 3, the Supreme Court reportedly decided that judges of the Supreme Court will soon publicly declare their assets on the court’s website. However, no official confirmation has been made yet.

Judges enjoy a unique status within the Indian state: unlike other holders of public office, Supreme Court and High Court judges are not required to publicly declare their assets.

If all Supreme Court judges end up disclosing their assets, it will mark the fruition of a push towards transparency that began 28 years ago. The fact that the Indian judiciary has not been able to achieve a matter as simple as declaring their assets underlines how opaque it has been...

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