Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Polity
Why in News?
Recently, the Justice Access and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative released the Judicial Transparency Index, a first‑of‑its‑kind assessment of the Supreme Court (SC) and 25 High Courts (HC).
Key Findings
- Collegium Decisions –
- SC resolutions provide only generic reasons (merit, integrity, competence), lacking substantive detail.
- No reasons given in last five transfer resolutions.
- RTI Implementation –
- 15 High Courts prescribe additional exemptions beyond Section 8 of RTI Act.
- Exemptions are often vague, overbroad, contradictory.
- Financial Transparency –
- 8 High Courts have not published budgets.
- None publish audit reports.
- Judicial Processes
- Live Streaming – 13 HCs adopted rules; only 4 (Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Telangana, Guwahati) streamed >75% proceedings.
- Case Allocation – No court publishes criteria for bench constitution.
- Recusals & Discipline – No clear policies; transparency gaps persist.
- Personnel and Asset Disclosures
- Supreme Court – 90% judges disclosed assets (post‑2025 resolution).
- High Courts – Wide variation; Kerala (90%), Madras (11%), Delhi (13.6%).
- Voluntary Nature – Leads to inconsistency over time.
- Sanctioned and Working Strength
- Judges – 19 HCs provide updated sanctioned/working strength.
- Staff – Only 5 HCs provide updated staff strength; 16 lack data.
- Best Practice – Allahabad, Calcutta, Manipur, Patna, Tripura publish both judges & staff data.
- Registry and Appointments
- Registry – All HCs publish list of officials; 23 provide contacts; 20 specify roles.
- Recruitment – 24 HCs publish shortlisted names for district judges; only 14 has disclosed marks.
- Transfers – All 25 publish orders; 18 provide reasons. Only 14 HCs have formal transfer policy. SC publishes resolutions but no transfer policy.
- Code of Conduct
- High Courts – None publish code of conduct for judges.
- Supreme Court – Publishes Restatement of Values of Judicial Life but lacks complaint procedure or sanction orders.
- Sanctions – Only J&K and Tripura publish information on disciplinary actions against district judges.
- Rankings
- Leaders – Himachal Pradesh HC (institutional governance), Tripura HC (judicial personnel disclosures).
- Lagging – Meghalaya and Bombay HCs (budgetary disclosures, public access).
- Supreme Court – Strong in institutional governance, moderate in judicial processes/personnel transparency.
Reference
The Print | Judicial Transparency Index Report
