Chennai: Taking a cue from their
colleagues in the Supreme Court, all the 54 judges of the
Madras High Court led by Chief Justice H L Gokhale today made
their assets public on the court's website.
Justice Gokhale has declared movable and immovable
property owned by him and his wife Prof Meena Hemant Gokhale,
detailing securities and investment, property in Mumbai and
shares held in top companies.
In his six-page declaration, Justice Gokhale said he
held shares in companies including Reliance Industries (192
shares), Bombay Dyeing (100 shares), Brihan Maharashtra Sugar
Syndicate Ltd (700 shares).
His wife had inherited a flat from her father in
Mumbai, at a market value of Rs 1.20 crore besides 335 gm of
gold and 2828 gm of silver, with a combined value of Rs 6.4
lakh.
Other judges including Justice S J Mukhopadhyaya,
Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice FM Ibrahim Kalifulla,
among others, declared their assets under "Voluntary
Disclosure of Assets in terms of the Resolution passed by the
Full Court of Madras High Court held on September 3, 2009."
All Judges of the Madras High Court, including its
Madurai Bench, had earlier submitted statements of their
assets and those of their spouses and minor children to
Justice Gokhale.
The move came three weeks after the Chief Justice of
India (CJI) and all the 20 Supreme Court judges declared their
assets on the court's website.
Justice Gokhale had told reporters on November 13 that
most of the Judges had handed over their declarations,
which would be put on the High Court website.
On September 3, he had announced that a full court
meeting had resolved that the Judges would declare their
assets by October 31. The deadline was later extended to
November 15.
Taking the initiative, Justice K Chandru soon after
being sworn-in as a permanent Judge of the High Court on
November 9 handed over an envelope containing details of
assets held by him, his spouse and minor daughter to the Chief
Justice.
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 20, 2009, 21:51