Thaindian News

Mumbai, March 31 (IANS) The Bombay High Court Thursday wanted to know why a first information report was not lodged against Mumbai Congress chief Kripashankar Singh, who is accused of amassing huge wealth through illegal means.

The judges’ query came after the submissions made by the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate and the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau on the investigations into the Singh family’s wealth.

“No criminal prosecution has been lodged on the basis of these reports? According to the investigations, Singh and his family possess disproportionate assets to the tune of crores,” a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice D.G. Karnik observed.

“Why don’t you register the FIR and then proceed with the investigations,” Justice Karnik wanted to know.

Chief Justice Shah also wanted to know the sources of the Singh family’s income. “That he has filed (IT) returns is okay, but from where has the money come,” he asked the investigators after going through the reports submitted by the three agencies.

Additional Solicitor General Darius Khambatta, representing the ED and IT, and Advocate General Ravi Kadam appearing for the ACB said that the three agencies were coordinating their efforts and since this was a preliminary enquiry, they would need more time.

To this, the high court granted another four weeks time to enable the investigators further the probe and submit their reports by April 28, in the PIL filed by social activist Sanjay Tiwari against Singh, and his connections in the Madhu Koda scam.

Chief Justice Shah also sought details of the Rs.4.50 crore deposited by DB Realty in the accounts of Singh’s son and daughter-in-law.

“What about this so-called interest-free loan? Is it not possible to connect the two,” he asked.

The fact of the DB Realty and Singh family’s links came to light after its top officials Shahid Balwa and Asif Balwa were nabbed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the 2G Spectrum scam.

The PIL has contended that Singh and his family members operate several bank accounts with transactions amounting to several hundred crore rupees, some of them have more than one PAN Card, and also own properties in Mumbai and elsewhere.