'Panama Papers': Black money SIT to investigate list

April 4, 2016

New Delhi, Apr 4: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money today said it will investigate thoroughly the reported secret list of about 500 prominent Indians including actors, politicians and businessmen who have allegedly stashed money in offshore entities in tax haven Panama.

"Investigations are being carried out. We are going to investigate it (the list) thoroughly," SIT Chairman Justice (retd) M B Shah told PTI.

Asked if the SIT had any information on these names, he said the panel got it today.
"No. We got the information just now," he said.

The Vice Chairman of the panel, Justice (retd) Arijit Pasayat, said they have asked agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, IT Department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence to make an assessment of the list and prepare a report in this regard.

"We want to know what is the truth behind these. The SIT did not have these reports. Maybe, the investigative agencies had. So, once they submit a report to us then we can take the required action," Pasayat said.

The list has been brought by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in collaboration with news publications across the globe including India and pertains to offshore investments made by Indians between a period of 1977 and 2015.

The latest list, after similar ones came in the the past like 'Swiss leaks' and the HSBC-list related to Indians, claims it has sourced data in connection to millions of documents which show heads of state, criminals and celebrities using "secret hideaways" in tax haven country of Panama.

However, ICIJ adds a disclaimer that there are also "legitimate uses for offshore companies".
"The Panama papers expose the internal operations of one of the world's leading firms in incorporation of offshore entities, Panama-headquartered Mossack Fonseca. The 2.6 terabytes of data that make up the Panama Papers files were obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with ICIJ and more than 100 media partners...

"ICIJ will release the full list of companies and people linked to them in early May," the ICIJ said on its web portal as it called the leaks "The Panama Papers".
Official sources said the Income Tax department has "taken cognisance" of the news reports and are "looking into it" as per the directions of the panel.

"Other agencies in the panel will act as and when the data is shared on the SIT platform," they said.

They, however, said some of the entities named in the list are already being investigated by ED and IT Department either by way of their disclosures made to them under the law or by way of intelligence inputs received in the past.

The international organisation said it possesses digital records and documents, emails and invoices to authenticate its claims which talk about multiple personalities and entities from across the globe.

The links published today by ICIJ names at least two people with Indian connections whereas the collaborating newspaper, 'The Indian Express', named about a dozen individuals and entities in the case.

The setting up of the SIT on black money was notified by the government in 2014 on the direction of the Supreme Court to look into cases of Indians holding illegal assets overseas.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

Comments