SC criticises govt for not probing black money case

The Supreme Court today flayed the government for not probing into specific sources of black money stashed in banks abroad and asked the Centre to apprise it of its investigation into the threat to national security posed by it.

The apex court also expressed its dismay that the government's probe into the issue of black money was focussed only on the case involving Pune stud owner Hasan Ali Khan and no name of any other person involved in stashing funds abroad has come out.

"No further information is coming out. Only one individual is there. What about others?" a bench of justices B Sudershan Reddy and S S Nijjar asked Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium, who submitted to the bench, in a sealed cover, the Enforcement Directorate's status report of its probe in the case.

After perusing the status report, the bench criticised the steps taken by the government in the investigation of the matter including that relating to the passport case against Khan.

"It is very difficult to be calm and quiet after seeing the status report," the bench remarked.

"Why all these agencies were sleeping since 2008? Why it moved when we stepped in? If writ petition had not been filed, nothing would have happened," the bench observed.

The court was hearing a PIL seeking retrieval of black money stashed by Indian citizens in banks abroad. The PIL had been filed by former Union Law Minister Ram Jethmalani.