Declaration of assets by judges may serve as legal document

As corruption cases against members of the judiciary make the headlines, a proposed bill on judicial accountability has suggested that the declaration of assets made by judges will be treated as a "legal document" and can be used to investigate complaints against them.

The declaration of assets and liabilities will form part of the proposed Judges Standards and Accountability Bill.

The details in the declaration would be compared with the actual assets of a judge found during investigation of misconduct, sources said.

"It will make the process of tracing disproportionate assets easier during investigations," the sources added.

Law minister M Veerappa Moily had said the bill would be tabled in the winter session of Parliament which concludes today.

"The draft has been revised eight times incorporating various suggestions to ensure that the final draft is comprehensive...It is a lengthy process and the final draft may take some time," sources said.

Declaration of assets by members of the higher judiciary was part of the Judges Assets Bill which the Government failed to table in the Rajya Sabha in the last session in August. The Opposition was against clause 6, which said that assets declared by judges cannot be put in public domain.

But with Supreme Court judges declaring their assets on the apex court website, the issue is said to be resolved.