The Hindu : New Delhi News : High Court pulls up I-T Dept.

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Thursday, Feb 24, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

High Court pulls up I-T Dept.

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 23. The Delhi High Court today pulled up the Income Tax Department here for not taking the initiative to expedite appeals pending before a tribunal in the matter of amassing disproportionate assets allegedly by 18 politicians and bureaucrats between 1997-98.

After perusing the status report filed in a sealed cover by the Department in the matter, a Division Bench comprising Justice B.C. Patel and Justice S.K. Kaul said: "It is surprising that you have so far taken no action in the matter where such a huge amount is involved.

"From the status report filed by the Department, it appears that no action has been taken in the matter,'' the Bench said in its order.

The Department filed the report on a direction given by the High Court in August last year while disposing of a public interest litigation seeking a direction to the Income Tax officials to take action on its two reports where 18 politicians, including the former Union Minister for Home Affairs, L.K. Advani, the former Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, the Minister for External Affairs, K. Natwar Singh, the Human Resources Development (HRD) Minister, Arjun Singh, and several bureaucrats were allegedly found to have amassed money beyond their known means of income between 1997-98.

Later, the Bench directed the Income Tax Department to file another status report in a sealed cover by May 4.

Quoting the two investigation reports, the petitioner, Omprakash Tapas, a senior journalist working with the Hindi daily "Navbharat Times' published from Delhi had alleged that these 18 politicians and bureaucrats were the same persons who were chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the infamous Jain hawala case but later discharged or acquitted by the court.

Investigations against these persons had been conducted in 1997, 1998 and 1999 but the Income Tax Department kept their findings in abeyance due to pressure from politicians and bureaucrats, the petition alleged

Disposing of the petition, the Bench said: "We are satisfied with the action taken by the Income Tax Department in the matter.''

However, it had asked the Department to file a status report mentioning details of the action it had taken.

An Additional Director of the Income Tax Department (Investigation), Bikas Dhari Sinha, had also in August 2000 admitted on oath as correct the names of 18 persons whom the petitioner had charged with amassing money beyond their known sources of income on the basis of the two investigation reports.

Prominent politicians among the 18 mentioned in the petition were Mr. Advani, Mr. Sinha, the former Civil Aviation Minister, Sharad Yadav, the former Minister of State for External Affairs, Ajit Kumar Panja, the former Deputy Prime Minister, late Devi Lal, the Union HRD Minister, Mr. Singh, the Uttrakhand Chief Minister, N.D. Tewari, the former Union Home Minister and Bihar Governor, Buta Singh, Rajya Sabha MP, R.K. Dhawan, and the Minister for External Affairs, Natwar Singh.

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