Shanti Bhushan to move HC against stamp duty evasion order

Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan today termed as illegal the order of Assistant Stamp Commission slapping a fine of Rs 27 lakh on him for evading stamp duty to the tune of Rs 1.35 crore on a property in Allahabad and said he will challenge it in the high court.

"This order has been clearly made under political pressure...," Bhushan said in a statement.

"This order.... is totally illegal and contrary to the law clearly laid down in AIR 1986 Allahabad 107 case. Section 47A which deals with evasion of Stamp Duty and has been applied by the stamp collector is not even applicable in this case.

The statement alleged, "...even the stamp collector had told the counsel of Shanti Bhushan that there is a lot of political pressure in this case. This illegal order will be challenged in the HC through a writ petition."

His comments came as Assistant Stamp Commissioner KP Pandey said that Bhushan has evaded stamp duty to the tune of Rs1.35 crore in the purchase of a prime property in Allahabad and has been been slapped with a fine of over Rs27 lakh on the outstanding amount.