The Madras High Court on Friday set aside an order passed by a judicial magistrate in Coimbatore on June 27 directing the Income-Tax department to produce a Rolls Royce Phantom car. The vehicle was seized during action initiated against Sukash Chandrashekaran alias Sukesh alias Sekhar who had allegedly attempted to bribe Election Commission officials to obtain the two leaves symbol in favour of sidelined AIADMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran.
Justice P.N. Prakash agreed with A.P. Srinivas, senior standing counsel for I-T department, that it was unnecessary on the part of the Magistrate to order production of the car on the basis of a false complaint lodged by an individual claiming it to be his car. The counsel had contended that R.S. Puram police which had register a first information report on the basis of the complaint could always conduct an enquiry at the local I-T office with respect to the car.
According to him, the I-T department had conducted searches at Coimbatore and Ernakulam last year to find out the assets of Sukesh. On November 10, they seized the Rolls Royce car, a Range Rover SUV, a Porsche and a Lamborghini. Apart from the four luxury vehicles, they also seized a Ducati motorcycle. All the five motor vehicles were allegedly purchased by Sukesh from his undisclosed sources of income and with money received through economic offences.
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Suddenly an individual filed a police complaint claiming that the Rolls Royce car belonged to him and the Magistrate too ordered production of the vehicle, the counsel said and sought to quash the lower court order fearing that the car could be ordered to be handed over to the complainant.