Discuss the various possible impacts of final judgment by the Supreme court on the judiciary’s right to privacy. (200 Words)
Refer - The Hindu
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
· Supreme Court had complied with the terms of a resolution adopted in 1997, in which all judges had committed to disclosing information about their assets and liabilities to the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
· The resolution had specifically mandated that the information would remain “confidential”.
· In 2005, Parliament passed the RTI Act, creating a legal right to demand information held by public authorities which arguably also includes the CJI.
· So public servants as a class of employees cannot be forced to disclose their personal assets to the public merely because they hold public posts.
· However, in individual cases, if the person seeking such information could demonstrate a “larger public interest” such as wrongdoing or impropriety on the part of the public official, the information could be disclosed.
Possible impacts
· Putta swamy case Supreme Court declared that Right to Privacy as Fundamental right.
· This can influence PUCL (2003) and Lok Prahari v. Union of India (2018), in which forces them to publicly disclose not just their assets but also the sources of their income.
· The final ruling of the Constitution Bench will also impact the contentious Section 44 of the Lokpal Act, 2013, which requires all public servants (this includes judges) to disclose their assets but is silent on whether the disclosure should be to the competent authority or the general public.
· The final ruling enforces judicial accountability and effectively highlights the system of checks and balances.
