Black Money Case: Supreme Court Talks Tough, Orders Modi-led Government To Disclose All Names By Tomorrow

Talking tough with the Modi-government over the issue of black money, the Supreme Court On Tuesday has asked the Centre to disclose names of all Indians being investigated for allegedly stashing untaxed or "black money" abroad.

"Why are you providing a protective umbrella to foreign bank account holders?" the judges angrily asked the Centre and added that "We can't leave the issue of bringing back black money to government. It will never happen during our time."

The apex court’s tough stand comes a day after the central government named eight people in the top court who are being prosecuted for illicit bank accounts in Switzerland and other countries.

Based on a petition filed by noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani, the court has been monitoring the investigations into black money since 2009.

The new government, just like the UPA government, has also been arguing in the court that tax treaties with other countries prohibit the disclosure of names of account holders till charges against the alleged offenders are framed.

Also, the BJP government today asserted it will investigate each person whose name has been shared by countries like Germany and Switzerland and then present the details to court.

However, the Supreme Court, which has appointed a team of retired judges and bureaucrats to map how to recover black money, said, "You do not do anything. Just pass on the information of account holders to us and we will pass orders for a further probe."
(Image: Wikipedia)