India to make mandatory disclosure of judges' wealth

The Indian government will soon table a bill in the parliament to make it mandatory for judges to disclose their assets and liabilities.
Law Minister M Veerappa Moily yesterday told the press that he had asked the law secretary to prepare a draft of the bill soon so that it could be sent for approval by the federal cabinet before it would be introduced in the parliament--possibly in the coming session which would start on July 2.
He said it was wrong to think that the judiciary was against such legislation. The government would take the judiciary into confidence before the bill is passed, he added.
Moily said his ministry's plans for judicial reforms would be made public within a month or two.
He said there was no question of taking a confrontational line with the judiciary on the issue of disclosure of judges' assets and liabilities.
So far, Supreme Court judges have voluntarily declared their assets to the Chief Justice of India who however has not placed those declarations in public, saying a law first be enacted to prevent misuse of such information.