Apex court seeks govt reply on black money information

Asked the revenue secretary in the Finance Ministry to reply by next week

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the government to explain why it hadn’t disclosed the names of those who had stashed black money in foreign banks despite a German bank giving a list of such persons to the government several years ago. It asked the revenue secretary in the finance ministry to send a reply by next week.

In a judgment in July 2011, the court had asked the government to disclose the names to the petitioner, lawyer Ram Jethmalani.

Solicitor-General Mohan Parasaran on Tuesday said the government was taking a stand that it wasn’t possible to reveal the contents of the documents provided by Germany, owing to global treaties. But a Bench said the government not following the order even after three years was “nothing but contempt of court”. When Anil Divan, Jethmalani’s counsel, said the government hadn’t replied to his plea, the judges said it had ignored them, too.

The 2011 judgment had also directed the government to set up a special investigation team (SIT) headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to probe black money deals with global ramifications, as well as mafia connections. But the government had opposed this in a review petition, later dismissed.

The Solicitor-General produced a letter from ex-judge B P Jeevan Reddy, who had declined the chairmanship of the proposed SIT. The name of ex-judge M B Shah had also been suggested, though his willingness, too, was in doubt. So, the court asked the government and Jethmalani to suggest the names of two judges willing to take up the task. The names will be taken up at the next hearing.