Transparency in judiciary, Supreme Court made judges property details public

New Delhi: A big step has been taken regarding transparency in the Supreme Court. The property details of the judges of the court have been made online. From the year 2022, the details of all the candidates recommended for the Supreme Court and High Court have been uploaded. The Supreme Court has made the evaluation criteria for the appointment of HC/SC judges online. Along with this, the Supreme Court has made the appointment process public.

Data regarding the number of women, minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes candidates was recommended. At present, information related to the candidates of judges has also been made online. The data shows how much time was taken by the government to appoint approved candidates.

What did the court say?
A press release issued by the Supreme Court said, “The full court of the Supreme Court of India has decided on April 1, 2025 that the property information of the judges of this court will be placed in the public domain by uploading it on the website of the court.” The release said that the property information of the judges already received has been uploaded. The details of assets of other judges will be uploaded on receipt of current asset details.” The court has published the entire process of appointments to the High Courts and the Supreme Court on its website. This includes the roles of the High Court Collegium, inputs received from the State Governments, Union of India and consideration by the Supreme Court Collegium for public awareness.

A statement issued by the Supreme Court said, “Recommendations by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointments as High Court Judges during the period from November 9, 2022 to May 5, 2025, containing details such as name, High Court, source – from service or from the 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/Women) and whether the candidate is related to a sitting or retired High Court/Supreme Court judge have also been uploaded on the Supreme Court website.” CJI Khanna and Justice Gavai’s assets disclosed
As per the information available on the Supreme Court website According to the report, Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna has Rs 55.75 lakh in fixed deposits and bank accounts and Rs 1.06 crore in PPF account. Talking about immovable properties, CJI Khanna has a two-bedroom DDA flat in South Delhi and a four-bedroom flat in Commonwealth Games Village.

Apart from this, he has a 56 percent stake in a four-bedroom flat in Gurugram, while his daughter has the remaining 44 percent stake. Along with this, he also has a stake in an ancestral house in Himachal Pradesh, which is pre-partition. Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai, who is set to take over as CJI on May 14, has ₹19.63 lakh in his bank account and ₹6.59 lakh in his PPF account. Justice Gavai has inherited a house in Amravati, Maharashtra, as well as residential apartments in Mumbai and Delhi. He has also inherited agricultural land in Amravati and Nagpur. His declared liabilities are ₹1.3 crore.