FM refutes to IT official's charge as 'baseless'

Dismissing as "baseless" and "false representation" the charge by an I-T official that his son Karti had concealed information on his assets while filing nomination in Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said the officer was a "notorious litigator" facing a number of court cases.

"Yesterday, S K Srivatsava, an officer has filed a baseless and false representation against the Congress candidate in Sivaganga before the returning officer. He is a notorious litigator," Chidambaram said in a statement here.

"The media should take note of the antecedents of such a person before reporting on his activities," he said.

He said Srivatsava was facing "disciplinary proceedings" in the Income Tax department and "also facing a number of court cases".

"An application was filed by him on the same allegations before the CBI Court Special Judge, and the court dismissed it on December 3, 2011 as frivolous and mischievous and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him," he said.

Observing that the officer was convicted for contempt of court by the Delhi High Court and a warrant for his arrest had been issued, he said a special leave application filed by Srivatsava was pending before the Supreme Court.

Srivastava, Income Tax Commissioner based in Delhi, yesterday filed the complaint before the Returning Officer in his capacity as a voter seeking rejection of Karti Chidambaram's nomination. He alleged that Karti made false declaration about his assets and liabilities.