The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce Monday its verdict on a plea that a special investigation team (SIT) probe the alleged money laundering by suspected tax evader Hasan Ali Khan and Kolkata based-businessman Kashinath Tapuria, among others.
The plea by jurist Ram Jethmalani also sought a direction to the central government to disclose names, given to it by the German authorities, of Indian citizens who allegedly laundered money to LGT bank in Liechtenstein – a principality in Europe bordering Switzerland and Austria.
Jethmalani earlier told the apex court bench of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar that he did not expect much from the high-level committee the government has set up to oversee the investigation by various agencies into money laundering.The government constituted the committee under the chairmanship of secretary, department of revenue.Its members are deputy director Reserve Bank of India, directors of the Intelligence Bureau, the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), director generals of the Narcotic Control Bureau and Revenue Intelligence, director of the financial intelligence unit, and joint secretary of CBDT.
The chairman of the committee was mandated to report to the apex court on the investigations carried out by various departments.Besides the money laundering case involving huge amounts of black money stashed away in tax havens abroad, the apex court’s first day after summer recess will witness 28 judgments being delivered. The summer break started May 16.The apex court bench of Justice V.S. Sirpurkar and Justice T.S. Thakur are likely to pronounce a verdict on the plea of Haryana politicians Abhay and Ajay Chautala challenging their prosecution by the CBI in a disproportionate assets case relating to the period when they were members of state assembly from June 2000 to March 2005.
The Chautala brothers have challenged the institution of the corruption case against them on the grounds that the investigating agency initiated the proceedings without taking prior sanction of the speaker of the assembly.Both Abhay and Ajay Chautala are at present members of the assembly and are grandsons of the former deputy prime minister Devi Lal. Their father Om Prakash Chautala is a former chief minister of Haryana.The case related to admission of students under the reserved category of other backward classes (OBC) in central educational institutions, particularly in Delhi University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University, would also come up Monday.
This matter would be heard by the bench of Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice A.K. Patnaik. A petitioner has sought a uniform policy for the admission of OBC students under the reserved category.
The bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Cyriac Joseph would hear a petition by the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party challenging the Jammu and Kashmir and central governments’ policy of allowing the return and rehabilitation of former militants from Pakistani Kashmir.
