Kudos to Justice D V Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court

Kudos is due to this judge of Karnataka High Court for clearing the stand of judges on declaration of assets. Read below:

CJI can't speak for all on assets issue: Karnataka HC judge

Excerpt from news story below:

In the first open dissent by a sitting judge against the Chief Justice of India’s stand on declaration of assets by the higher judiciary, Justice D V Shylendra Kumar of the Karnataka High Court has said that “it’s a misnomer to think that the judges of the superior courts are not ready to disclose their assets.”

Referring to CJI KG Balakrishnan's remarks that judges could be harassed if their assets were made public, Kumar wrote, "On a legal place the CJI does not have the authority to speak for all judges of the Supreme Court, or High Courts, unless any of them have either confided in the Chief Justice or have authorised him to speak on behalf of others."

It is a sign of a vibrant judiciary that there be a healthy debate within judiciary on merits of issues like declaration of judges' assets. These are issues of national importance and cannot be the purview merely of top judiciary or a commission.