Justice Iyer calls for information on judges' wealth

Kochi, Jul 2 (UNI) Former Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice V R Krishna Iyer, today opined refusing information about judges' wealth was 'violation of Freedom of Information Act, a contravention of the Constitution and incompatible with the values of democracy.' In a statement here, the noted jurist said ''in a democracy,every instrumentality must be subject to transparency and accountability.

They (judges) should have nothing to hide and everything should be open.'' The judiciary should not be arbitary in keeping their wealth or other aspects of life, which affect directly or indirectly their performance, as a matter of privacy, Mr Justice Iyer added.

''All are equal and what is arbitary, violate Article 14 as the Supreme Court has held and again Article 19 is violated because freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right, integrally imply freedom of information without which intelligent opinion and sensible expression will be impossible,'' he said.

UNI MA GM SLD KN1909