Chandigarh, August 31
The Chief Justice and the judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today unanimously resolved to declare their assets, along with those of their spouses and children.
The resolution was reportedly passed this morning by the Full Court attended by almost all judges hours before the general house of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association convened to discuss the issue. With this, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has become the fourth high court in the country, where the judges have decided to voluntarily put their assets in public domain; the first three to follow in the footsteps of the apex court judges being Delhi, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh high courts. It is believed that the judges and Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur resolved that the details of assets would be submitted in accordance with the set format, to be prepared by a committee of senior-most high court judges, after taking into consideration the pattern adopted by the Supreme Court and other high courts.
It was also decided that the assets would be declared by the advocates and the district and sessions judges at the time of their elevation to the high court. The sitting judges would also update the details of their assets, already handed over in a sealed cover to Justice Vijender Kumar Jain in May, 2008, when he was the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.Until now, the judges have been furnishing details of their assets in a sealed cover to the Chief Justice, but the passing of the resolution indicates the assets will now be declared publicly.
The decision to declare the assets was also communicated to Bar Association president Sukhjinder S Behl for onward transmission to the Bar members immediately after the resolution was passed.
