I-T dept latest to earn SC ire over tardy 2G probe
05 May 2011
A Supreme Court bench hearing the 2G spectrum case today pulled up the income tax department for lethargy in probing tax evasion issues linked to the case, saying the department has made very little progress.
A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly directed the department to file a detailed report on action taken by it during the last three years when it got a complaint in this regard and began tapping corporate lobbyist Niira Radia's telephone.
It also directed the department to share details of its findings with the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.
"The IT department must be quicker. This is not a normal case of tax evasion. It (probe) should have been done fast. These are not ordinary cases to be handled in ordinary way," the bench said.
The department, however, defended its methods, saying that the investigation has entered the "fifth layer" and the approach towards the case has not been tardy.
It also said it had alerted the CBI about a Rs106 crore transaction by a DB Group company of which the CBI was not aware.