The Supreme Court on Monday elevated a high-powered committee to a special investigative team (SIT) to probe illegal monies stashed away by Indian citizens in foreign banks, empowering it with even more powers in its new avatar.
The court appointed two of its former judges, Jeevan Reddy and M.B. Shah to head the SIT as chairman and vice chairman, respectively, and to ensure that the court is kept informed of the SIT’s progress.
The high powered committee consists of the revenue secretary, deputy director of the Reserve Bank of India, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, director general of Revenue Intelligence, director general of Narcotics Control, director of Foreign Intelligence Office, joint secretary of Foreign Trade and the directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau and Enforcement Directorate.
The court also added the director of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to the newly-created SIT and the government has been ordered to pass a notification to formalize the appointment of the SIT.
On the issue of disclosing the names of bank account holders abroad, the court said that such information could be disclosed only if investigators had reason to believe that there was wrong doing involved. Individuals with show cause notices against them will become known to the public, while the identity of the rest will be withheld as the court viewed this as a part of their right to privacy.
Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, who is due to retire on Thursday, delivered the detailed order along with justice Surinder Singh Nijjar. The bench was scathing in its remarks on the government, calling its previous attempts to unearth black money as ”incapacities - system wide”.
Observing the phenomenon of black money as “extremely dangerous to the country”, the court said the quantum of money in foreign banks is a rough measure of “weakness” and “softness” of the nation.
The bench said that it was a serious lapse on the part of the government which will have implications on the country’s external and internal security.
“We must express serious reservation on the steps taken by the government...It’s clear to us that investigation was completely stalled and expedited only after the court’s intervention.
“It was only upon this court’s insistence that proper investigation was conducted,” the bench said while referring to Pune stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan’s case.
“There was much to be desired,” the court said, adding there was a need for it to get involved in the case.
“We hold that continued involvement of the court is necessary,” the bench said, while directing the SIT to take over all the cases relating to the issue of black money and file a status report before it.
The court was critical of the government for the slowness of its investigation, while clarifying that it was the duty of the court to hear such petitions in public interest.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and others seeking directions to the government to track black money stashed away abroad and bring it back.
The court appointed two of its former judges, Jeevan Reddy and M.B. Shah to head the SIT as chairman and vice chairman, respectively, and to ensure that the court is kept informed of the SIT’s progress.
The high powered committee consists of the revenue secretary, deputy director of the Reserve Bank of India, chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, director general of Revenue Intelligence, director general of Narcotics Control, director of Foreign Intelligence Office, joint secretary of Foreign Trade and the directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Intelligence Bureau and Enforcement Directorate.
The court also added the director of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to the newly-created SIT and the government has been ordered to pass a notification to formalize the appointment of the SIT.
On the issue of disclosing the names of bank account holders abroad, the court said that such information could be disclosed only if investigators had reason to believe that there was wrong doing involved. Individuals with show cause notices against them will become known to the public, while the identity of the rest will be withheld as the court viewed this as a part of their right to privacy.
Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, who is due to retire on Thursday, delivered the detailed order along with justice Surinder Singh Nijjar. The bench was scathing in its remarks on the government, calling its previous attempts to unearth black money as ”incapacities - system wide”.
Observing the phenomenon of black money as “extremely dangerous to the country”, the court said the quantum of money in foreign banks is a rough measure of “weakness” and “softness” of the nation.
The bench said that it was a serious lapse on the part of the government which will have implications on the country’s external and internal security.
“We must express serious reservation on the steps taken by the government...It’s clear to us that investigation was completely stalled and expedited only after the court’s intervention.
“There was much to be desired,” the court said, adding there was a need for it to get involved in the case.
“We hold that continued involvement of the court is necessary,” the bench said, while directing the SIT to take over all the cases relating to the issue of black money and file a status report before it.
The court was critical of the government for the slowness of its investigation, while clarifying that it was the duty of the court to hear such petitions in public interest.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and others seeking directions to the government to track black money stashed away abroad and bring it back.
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