In a landmark move to promote transparency and bolster public confidence in the judiciary, the Supreme Court of India has, for the first time, made the declarations of assets and liabilities of its judges publicly accessible on its official website.
The declarations include those of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and 20 other sitting judges of the apex court. Among them are the next three judges in line to assume the position of Chief Justice in the near future. This unprecedented decision follows a Full Court meeting held on 1 April 2025, presided over by CJI Khanna, in which all judges unanimously agreed to make their personal asset disclosures public.
Until now, Supreme Court judges were mandated to submit asset statements to the Chief Justice, but these records remained confidential. The recent decision mandates that these statements be uploaded to the Court’s website as a matter of policy and practice going forward.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of controversy following alleged cash recovery from the official premises of Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, which sparked public debate about accountability within the judiciary.
A press release from the Supreme Court confirmed the move, “The Full Court of the Supreme Court of India has on April 1, 2025, decided that the statements of assets of the judges of this Court shall be placed in the public domain by uploading the same on the website of this Court. Statements of assets of judges already received are being uploaded. Statements of assets of other judges will be uploaded as and when received.”
At present, asset declarations from 22 judges, including CJI Khanna, Justices BR Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S. Oka, Vikram Nath, Bela M. Trivedi, and others have been made available online. Declarations from remaining judges are expected to be uploaded as they are submitted.
In addition to the asset disclosures, the Supreme Court has also released detailed information regarding the judicial appointments process. This includes recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium for High Court judgeships from 9 November 2022 to 5 May 2025. The publicly available data includes the candidate’s name, High Court, source (Bar or judicial service), date of recommendation and appointment, category (SC/ST/OBC/Minority/Woman), and whether the nominee is related to any sitting or retired judge of a High Court or the Supreme Court.
This new policy marks a turning point in judicial accountability in India. By making such information accessible, the Supreme Court has set a precedent that legal experts and transparency advocates have long demanded.
(With inputs from Live Law)
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