Black money case: Names can only be made public as per due course of law, says Jaitley

With the Congress stepping up its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in the black money case, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday emphasized the Centre's stand on the issue and said the names of the account holders can only be disclosed as per due course of law.

"There is no difficulty in making names public but the names can only be made public as per due course of law as we are bound by a treaty commitment given by the previous government, and whether good or bad, it is a process of law," said Jaitley.

"The Government of India had sent three officials to have a discussion in Switzerland with Swiss officials with an intention to get information on people who have bank accounts in the Swiss bank. The subject of negotiation was to find out the details on Indians who have stacked money in Swiss accounts. A breakthrough was reached that in cases where there is independent investigation in India, the details in relation to those accounts will be provided. We have agreed to start discussion on bilateral agreement between India and Switzerland on automatic exchange of information," he added.

Criticizing the Centre's application to the Supreme Court in the black money case, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi described it as political hypocrisy of the highest order.

"By not revealing the black money account holders' names, the government's hypocrisy has been exposed," said Singhvi.

He also questioned Prime Minister Modi over his promises made to the public during the Lok Sabha elections.

In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had promised to bring back black money stashed in safe havens abroad while pulling up the Congress-led UPA regime for not taking firm steps on the issue.

Earlier today, the Centre told the Supreme Court that it cannot disclose the names of all those having black money stashed abroad as it violates the double taxation avoidance agreement. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that if confidentiality is not maintained, then the execution of treaties will become impossible.

Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani has accused the Centre of trying to protect people with black money.

Switzerland had earlier this month said that it will examine Indian requests for banking information on a priority basis and provide requested details in a time-bound manner.

India had also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe cases of alleged black money of Indians, including funds stashed abroad in places like Switzerland.

A Special Investigation Team, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice M B Shah, is looking into the menace of black money.