Chandigarh: Punjab and Haryana high court, once lauded for its trendsetting stand on judicial transparency, now sees only 30 of its 53 current judges volunteering to disclose their assets publicly on the HC’s website.
Chief Justice Sheel Nagu, who assumed office four months ago, is yet to make his assets public, though other senior judges, including Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, Justice Arun Palli, and Justice Lisa Gill, have declared their assets on the HC portal.
Fifteen years ago, the movement for judicial transparency in high court gained momentum when a former judge — Justice K Kannan — voluntarily declared his assets and those of his wife. But the disclosure trend has recently seen inconsistencies.
Justice Kannan took the lead in declaring his assets in 2009, prompting a full court resolution led by then Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur. The resolution called for judges to voluntarily disclose their assets to uphold the “high moral values of the judicial institution.” However, this commitment has seen inconsistent adherence in recent years.
The trend was first broken by former Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha, who, despite serving for nearly four years, did not disclose his assets, and some judges followed suit.
The high court currently operates with only 53 judges of a sanctioned strength of 85.
While there is no legal requirement for high court judges to publicly disclose their assets, civil rights advocates and parliamentary committees have been urging for statutory reforms to mandate such disclosures.
In 2009, a national debate arose when senior lawyer and civil rights activist Prashant Bhushan urged around 600 high court judges across the country to disclose their assets voluntarily. The issue gained prominence when Justice Kannan responded by publicly listing his assets, setting a standard within Punjab and Haryana high court.
In 2023, the parliamentary committee on law and personnel recommended a new law requiring annual asset declarations from the judges of Supreme Court and high courts. Advocates for transparency argue that regular asset disclosures from higher judiciary members would reinforce public trust and accountability within the judicial system.