Plea against SC's income disclosure rules dismissed

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the Supreme Court rules requiring an advocate and litigant to cite their annual income and PAN number while filing a PIL.

A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw dismissed the plea, saying it does not appreciate the petitioner rushing to the high court without even making any representation to the Supreme Court, where the matter has already been pending.

Lawyer M.L. Sharma filed the petition challenging the Supreme Court's 2013 rules and sought their quashing. The plea has said the rule on income disclosure was "arbitrary and illegal" and against public interest and justice.

In its order, the court noted that the Supreme Court has already been seized of the matter and instead of approaching the high court, the advocate should have made representation to the apex court first.

"The petitioner on enquiry admitted that he is a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Once the Bar Association has taken up the issue in the Supreme Court, the petitioner being one of the members cannot be allowed to open an independent front," the bench said.

Dismissing the plea, it added: "The proper course for the petitioner would be to approach the Bar Association to also make a specific challenge to the subject Rule and/or avail of other remedies before the Supreme Court only."

Sharma had argued that compelling a litigant to disclose annual income in the writ petition is interference in the privacy of a individual's personal right as well as the requirement is illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary.