Supreme Court judges to make details of their assets public, info to be uploaded on court's website

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The Supreme Court judges on Thursday unanimously agreed to declare their assets to Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

The information declared by the judges regarding their assets will be uploaded on the apex court's website.

The decision comes days after the alleged discovery of cash from Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma's residence after a fire incident around on the night of Holi, March 14.

Following the incident, Justice Varma was transfered to the Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court had ordered an in-house probe over the discovery of cash from the judge's Lutyen's Delhi residence.

The discovery of cash also reignited discussions on the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, which the Supreme Court had previously struck down as unconstitutional.

The NJAC Act, which provided a greater say to the executive in the judicial appointment process, was passed by both Houses of Parliament with near unanimity.

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar brought up the Act in Parliament following the incident, saying it bothered him that discovery "happened and did not immediately surface.”

The Vice President said that “if the malaise had been dealt with, perhaps we would not have countenanced such kind of issues”.

(With agency inputs)