|
Black
money: Apex court seeks details on government steps
Thursday January 27, 2011 09:06:14 PM,
IANS
|
|
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court Thursday asked the central government to furnish details of
the steps it has taken to get back the black money stashed away in
foreign banks.
The court asked Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium to file an
affidavit detailing all the information the government has in its
possession about the concealed money of Indian citizens lying in LGT Bank in Europe and other foreign banks.
The apex court bench of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice
S.S. Nijjar said: "We will like to know about the faceless persons
who have stashed away the ill-gotten money in bank accounts
abroad."
"We have a list containing some names. There are some figures.
They are known to you. What are the inquiries made about these
individuals and the nature of the contents (of the inquires)? You
know the details. We want to know. We are not talking about tax
agreement or Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)," the
court told the solicitor general.
Responding to the observation of the court, Subramanium said: "We
will file a comprehensive affidavit. We are not shielding anybody.
Whatever information the government has, will be filed in the
comprehensive affidavit".
The solicitor general said: "We have nothing to hide but we are
bound by the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and
Germany."
The apex court's directions came in the wake of the hearing on a
petition by jurist Ram Jethmalani who sought directions to the
central government to take steps for the recovery of the
ill-gotten money stashed away in foreign banks in tax havens.
Jethmalani told the court that the UN has said that all countries
are required to share information on money laundering but recently
India signed a protocol with Switzerland, which has made it
impossible to get any information.
The court wanted to know if the government would place the copy of
the protocol before it.
As Subramanium said "it may not be possible to place the copy of
the protocol before the court", Jethamalani offered to provide
one.
Appearing for Jethmalani, senior counsel Anil Diwan said the
German government's offer to share the details of the account
holders was not confined to those countries which had a DTAA with
it.
Diwan told the court that the information was available across the
board to all the countries who were inclined to use it.
Liechtenstein, where the LGT Bank is located, is a small
independent principality (monarchy) in Europe and is not a part of
Germany.
The German authorities obtained the information on the account
holders of LGT Bank in Liechtenstein from an employee of the bank.
|
|
Home |
Top of the Page |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Top
Stories |
|
 Indian
culture, military might unfold at R'Day
It was a
blessed sunny afternoon as scores of ministers, diplomats and
other top dignitaries gathered at the lawns of the Rashtrapati
Bhavan Wednesday for the President's At Home
»
President hosts R'Day reception, Yudhoyono 'At Home'
Republic
Day celebrated in Kuwait
Republic
Day Celebrations: India's Islamic, Buddhist heritage on display |
|
|
|
Picture of the Day |
|
 |
|
Most part of India is still reeling
under cold waves and people try various means for warming up. What
is seen in the photo above is a norm during these days.
(Photo: Hasan
Jawed) |
|
|
|
|
Most
Read |
|
Burning
of Malegaon official to be probed; Govt. announced compensation
Yeshwant Sonawane, the additional
collector
»
Yeswhant
Sonawane:
A man of resolve who
tried to bring change in Malegaon |
|
BJP march
to divert focus on terror cases linked to RSS: Congress
The
Congress Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Ekta Yatra'
to Srinagar was aimed at diverting attention from terror-related
charges faced by people linked to the Rashtriya
»
BJP March: Kashmir gateway turns
into battle zone |
|
|
|
News Pick |
|
 Have
resigned, but not under pressure: Deoband vice chancellor
Drawing flak for his alleged praise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
»
Deoband
chief offers to quit over Modi remarks row |
|
Egypt
president's son, family flee to Britain
Egyptian
president Hosni Mubarak's son who is considered as his successor
has fled to Britain along with his family, US-based Arabic website
Akhbar al-Arab reported.
The plane with Gamal Mubarak, his wife and daughter
» |
|
US seek
ouster of UN special rapporteur for 9/11 theories
The US
demanded Tuesday that UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk be
sacked, after he made controversial comments regarding possible US
involvement in the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington.
» |
|
US
reviewing immunity for Kamal Nath in 1984 Sikh riots case
The United
States is still reviewing whether Indian Urban Development
Minister Kamal Nath, who has been summoned by a New York court for
his alleged role in
»
Kamal Nath summoned by US court in
1984 Sikh riots case |
|
Apex
court modifies Graham Staines murder verdict
Stung by
widespread criticism, the Supreme Court Tuesday expunged the
portion of its judgment which said that Australian missionary
Graham Staines was killed in Orissa in 1999 by Hindu bigot Dara
Singh and his
» |
|
|
|
|
Comments
|
Quick links