Only 12% of judges in High Courts have declared assets: data, Pg 1 & 12

Out of 769 High Court judges, only 95 (12.35%) have declared their assets publicly on official court websites.

Only six High Courts have judges who have disclosed assets, with Kerala (93.18%) and Himachal Pradesh (91.66%) leading in compliance.

Others like Chhattisgarh (1/16) and Madras (5/65) have notably poor transparency.

Delhi HC shows 7 of 38 serving judges disclosing assets, down from 29/35 in 2018.

Website maintains archive of disclosures from 64 former judges, dating back to 2010.

30 out of 33 Supreme Court judges, including the CJI, have submitted asset details; will be published post technical integration.

April 1 Full Court meeting saw agreement by all judges to disclose assets.

Parliamentary Standing Committee (2023) recommended mandatory annual property disclosures for High Court and SC judges.

Noted that public officials like MPs and MLAs must disclose assets, and judges must be held to similar standards.

Transparency in judiciary is essential to build public trust and uphold integrity.

Statutory mandate for annual asset disclosure, with regular audits and online publication, is crucial for accountability.

Mains Mock Question:

"Discuss the significance of asset disclosure by members of the higher judiciary in promoting transparency and judicial ethics. Should it be made mandatory by law?"