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New Delhi, The Supreme Court has ordered the government to disclose the names of all Indians being investigated for allegedly holding untaxed or “black money” abroad. “Why are you providing a protective umbrella to foreign bank account holders?” asked the judges, angrily adding, “We can’t leave the issue of bringing back black money to government. It will never happen during our time.”
The order comes a day after the government named eight people in the top court who are being prosecuted for illicit bank accounts in Switzerland and other countries.
The top court has been monitoring the investigations into black money since 2009, based on a petition filed by noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani.
The previous government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh and now the new government have been arguing in court that tax treaties with other countries prohibit the disclosure of names of account holders till charges against the alleged offenders are framed.
The government today said it will investigate each person whose name has been shared by countries like Germany and Switzerland and then present the details to court. “You do not do anything. Just pass on the information of account holders to us and we will pass orders for a further probe,” said the court, which has appointed a team of retired judges and bureaucrats to map how to recover black money.
