Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar has moved the Karnataka High Court questioning the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), New Delhi, asking him to personally appear before the investigation officer on February 8 for questioning in connection with a money-laundering case.
The ED had, on January 17, 2019, issued a summons to him based on the charge sheet filed in June 2018 by the Income Tax Department against Mr. Shivakumar and four others on the allegations of wilfully attempting to evade tax, filing false income tax statements under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, and indulging in criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code along with the four other accused for evading tax.
The petition, filed on February 2, is yet to come up for hearing.
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The I-T Department had also alleged in the charge sheet that Mr. Shivakumar, along with two businessmen, and a present and a former employee of the Karnataka government, had “engaged in transporting huge amounts of unaccounted cash on a regular basis through hawala channels”. The I-T Department had initiated prosecution based on the outcome of the raids conducted on premises belonging to Mr. Shivakumar and others at various locations in Bengaluru and New Delhi.
Besides the summons issued by the ED, he has also questioned the sanction granted on May 28, 2018, by the Principal Director of Income Tax (Investigation) for prosecuting him and four others while contending that the Principal Director had no authority to grant sanction. Also, it has been claimed in the petition that it is only the assessing officer who can file a complaint for violation of the provisions of the I-T Act and not the officer who conducted the search.
Mr. Shivakumar has also questioned the action of the special court of economic offences in taking cognisance of offences against him and others on June 18, 2018, based on the “illegal” sanction for prosecution.
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All the proceedings by both the I-T Department and the ED were “without jurisdiction”, it has been contended in the petition.