SC asks Govt to prevent Hasan Ali from leaving country

This was conveyed by the court to Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium during the hearing of a petition filed by noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani and some former bureaucrats seeking its direction to the government to bring black money, said to be the tune of 1 trillion US dollars, back to the country.

"It's your duty to ensure that he is available to face prosecution," the court said when Subramanium informed it that Hasan Ali is in India and the government is taking all necessary steps against him. The bench also queried whether the stud farm owner can be made a party to the proceedings before it.

During the hearing, Subramanium assured the court that the Centre would reveal the names of persons, who have stashed black money in foreign banks after registering a formal case against them.

Subramanium, appearing before a bench headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy, said the government has issued show cause notices against the persons accused of having black money in foreign banks and once a case is registered against them, their names will be made public.

Senior advocate Anil Divan representing Jethmalani contended that the government is not taking effective steps in this direction. Referring to an article in which it was reported that Letters Rogatory have been issued to authorities in five countries -- UAE, UK, USA, Singapore and Hong Kong -- seeking information regarding black money, he submitted that nothing more has been done in this regard.

Countering Divan's arguments, the solicitor general accepted that Letters Rogatory have been issued and said the government has taken "remarkable" steps in the case of black money.

Placing before the court a sealed envelope, Subramanium said all this information has been given in it. The court then adjourned the matter for further hearing on March 3.