SC gets black money list

The government submitted a list of 627 Indians holding accounts in HSBC Bank, Geneva, to the Supreme Court, which directed its special investigating team (SIT) to examine them and take appropriate action.
Handing over a sealed envelope, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi said it contained three documents — the government’s correspondence with the French government, the list of names and a status report.
A special bench headed by Chief Justice of India HL Dattu refused to open the envelope, saying it would be done by the SIT chairman and vice-chairman. “We don’t want to open these papers and embarrass anyone. That has never been our intention,” it said.
Scheduling the next hearing for December 3, it asked the SIT to submit a status report by November 30 after ascertaining who had black money accounts abroad.
The Centre had on Monday disclosed eight names in an affidavit — including those of Dabur India promoter Pradip Burman, a bullion trader and the directors of a Goa mining company, all facing prosecution. Earlier, it had revealed 18 other names.
On Tuesday, the top court directed the government to submit the full list after the latter said it wasn’t possible to make the names of all foreign bank account holders public as all of them may not be guilty of tax evasion. Rejecting the Centre’s submission that such action would breach the privacy of legal account holders, the CJI said, “If it breaches confidentiality, let it be so.”
But on Wednesday, when Rohatgi asked him to open the sealed envelope, he refused to do so.
It was also not clear why the court insisted on getting the list from the government when the latter had submitted it to the court-appointed SIT in June.
Rohatgi told the court the details of account holders were for the year 2006. The data, stolen from HSBC in Geneva, were supplied to France, which passed it on to India in 2011. He said half the account holders were Indian residents who could be prosecuted under income tax laws and the rest were NRIs. Several have admitted to holding foreign accounts but maintain they have paid taxes, he added.
Rohatgi also told the court that most transactions had taken place during 1999 and 2000 and under law, the last date for completion and assessment of all cases was March 31, 2015. Under the IT Act, prosecution for tax evasion can be initiated up to 16 years after the offence.
According to SIT chairman MB Shah, the report submitted by the government has no new details, and the list was the same as the one given to it earlier this year. “We have to question the people named in it,” he told a TV channel.
“The probe is difficult. There is no eyewash. The report will take time. We have already filed the first report in August. I’m hopeful that we should be able to file the final report by next year,” he added.
The Centre, meanwhile, was allowed by the court to raise its objections against making all the names public before the SIT.