Illegal transfer: DKS moves HC for quashing of summons

Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court seeking directions to quash summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an illegal money transfer case.

The ED has served summons on Shivakumar and four others and they have been asked to be present at the office of the directorate for hearing.

He has stated in his petition that income tax raids were conducted at his residences in Bengaluru and Delhi. Based on the available material, the Principal Director of I-T then granted sanction for prosecution of offences punishable under section 276 (1) (willful evasion of tax/penalty) and 277 (false statement on verification) of the I-T Act along with Section 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code(IPC) on May 28, 2018. Thereafter on May 28, 2018, the sanctioning authority proceeded to grant instructions for filing complaint without jurisdiction to the Income Tax Department.

On June 13, 2018, the department filed a complaint for offences punishable under section 276 (1) and 277 of the IT Act along with 120 B, 193 and 197 of IPC.

The petition further stated that on June 18, 2018, the Special Court for Economic Offences took cognizance and registered a complaint for the said offences. Thereafter, on 17 January 2019, the ED’s assistant director issued summons to the petitioner.

The petition is yet to come up for hearing.

During the raids, the I-T officials found over Rs 3 crore in cash at a flat in New Delhi that belonged to Shivakumar. It is alleged that Shivakumar’s aides carried the money to New Delhi. But the minister has failed to answer the questions of ED pertaining to the money.