New Delhi, Sep 2 - Right to Information (RTI) activists Wednesday hailed the Delhi High Court's ruling that judges should declare their assets and that the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) comes under the purview of the RTI Act.

'I am very very excited. I want to compliment Delhi High Court Justice S. Ravindra Bhat. He is the best judge in India,' said an emotional Subhash Chandra Agrawal, an RTI activist.

It was on Agrawal's petition that the Central Information Commission (CIC) ruled that the office of CJI is a public authority. The Supreme Court had through its registry filed an appeal against that order in the high court.

The high court Wednesday upheld the CIC decision that judges should declare their assets and the office of the Chief Justice of India would be the public authority to assess those assets.

In a historical judgement, Justice Bhat said judges are accountable but they are also subject to some constraints.

'The dignity of the judges adds value to democracy. The judges are under public attack and revealing assets and other information may increase the reputation of the judges,' Bhat said.

Agrawal said: 'May god make him the chief Justice of India. His judgement will take forward the torch of transparency and accountability in the country.'

In his petition, he had asked whether all the judges are declaring details of their assets, including those of their dependents, to the chief justice.