After Criticism In Cash Row, Supreme Court Publishes Judges’ Assets Online, Makes Collegium Appointment Process Public

Striving to improve transparency, the Supreme Court announced on Monday (5 May) that it has published asset statements of judges on its website. This move aligns with a full-court resolution to make such information accessible to the public.

"The full court of the Supreme Court of India has on 1 April 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," the statement was quoted by NDTV.

"Statements of assets of judges already received are being uploaded. Statements of assets of other judges will be uploaded as and when the current statement of assets is received," the release added in the wake of recent criticisms against the judiciary, especially after Justice Yashwant Varma's cash row.

The Supreme Court has also made the entire process of appointments to the high courts and itself, including the functions of the High Court Collegium, the involvement of and feedback from state governments, the Union of India, and the Supreme Court Collegium's considerations, publicly accessible on its website to ensure transparency and public awareness.

"The proposals approved by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointments as high court judges during the period from November 9, 2022 to May 5, 2025, including the names, high court, source -- whether from service or Bar, date of recommendation by the Supreme Court Collegium, date of notification by the Department of Justice, date of appointment, special category (SC/ST/OBC/Minority/Woman) and whether the candidate is related to any sitting or retired High Court/Supreme Court judge, have also been uploaded on the Supreme Court website," the statement said.