DNA EXCLUSIVE: Show us action - Supreme Court to I-T on poll seizure

The Supreme Court slammed the Income Tax department on Tuesday after learning that it never followed up on Rs 303 crore unaccounted cash seized in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. It said the raids before polls were simply to terrorise people.

A bench of Justices NV Ramana and Mohan M Shantanagoudar was upset that the I-T department did not even have state-wise figures of cash seized and had to rely on data put up in the Election Commission's website.

Rapping the I-T on the knuckles for doing nothing to find the source of this illicit cash, the bench said, "Is this the state of affairs that the government does not know how many cases are there of illegal cash seizure. What is your mighty Income tax department doing when you have to depend on this information from EC?"

The case is an offshoot of cash recovered from a Karnataka businessman, who was later acquitted. This had prompted the state government to challenge the acquittal in SC, which then decided to dig deep into the matter.

Senior advocate R Balasubramanium, who represented the Central Board of Direct Taxes, said that once the I-T officials participate in the raid, the cash is seized and prosecution is handled by the respective states. "Whatever money is recovered, state agencies take over the investigation. In 2014, we did not have any system in place for state-wise data collection and prosecution. But now in 2019, we are pursuing it."

The bench retorted, "On one hand Election Commission claims that everything is being done to keep the purity of elections intact. For two months, all agencies are hyperactive and then you slip into slumber. You raid to simply terrorise people. Show us a single case where prosecution has been carried out. If not then why are you raiding? Your intention is clear that you do not want to assist the court in this matter."

Balasubramanium sought the last opportunity to present details of the raids of 2014 being pursued by the I-T. The SC wished to also know the action taken by the agency over the raids conducted in the present 2019 election as well. It said, "All we wish to know is whether the cases filed during elections are pursued since the EC claims it has no prosecution wing of its own to take these cases to a logical end."

The top court, which was informed of the pending cases filed by EC during 2014 polls, got assistance from lawyer Kuriakose Varghese who pointed out a portion from the EC affidavit filed in response to the court's query.

The EC affidavit said that after cash is seized during elections, it is forwarded to the respective treasury units. If the amount exceeds Rs 10 lakh, a copy of the seizure report is sent to I-T. If this cash is suspected to have any link with a crime or any candidate or agent or party functionary, intimation is sent to the I-T for action under tax laws. Citing this, Varghese said, the I-T department cannot wash its hands of pursuing the cases.

‘Onus on I-T’

• Lawyer Kuriakose Varghese cited an EC affidavit to show I-T role 
• If cash seized is more than Rs 10 lakh, a report goes to I-T
• I-T must take action if it is suspected the cash is linked to crime or a party
• Kuriakose said I-T can’t their hands of probing the cases