Karnataka High Court's Justice Shailendra Kumar had contended in his write-up that Chief Justice Balakrishnan in his public statement had given the impression that many high court judges were against disclosing their assets.

But with Chief Justice Balakrishnan managing to evolve a consensus among the apex court judges to disclose their assets, judges of the various high courts would now be under the moral obligation to follow the suit and declare their assets, felt several lawyers.

Hailing the apex court's progressive decision, Subhash Chandra Aggarwal, who had first moved the Central Information Commission for disclosure of judges' assets, told IANS: 'Had the apex court taken this decision earlier, they would have avoided a needless controversy.'

'Though a trifle late, it's the correct decision,' he added.