Income Tax Notice To Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa's Wife

A notice has been sent to Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa's wife Novel S Lavasa for discrepancies in income tax filings, sources told NDTV. The Income Tax department has sought information "related to foreign exchange", the sources said.

In a statement late on Monday evening, Mrs Novel S Lavasa said she has "paid all taxes due towards me and disclosed all income earned by me from pension, and all other sources as per Income Tax law" and she is cooperating with the department.

"It is clarified that having served as a Class I officer with the State Bank of India for 28 years and having acquired vast experience in Banking and Development, I continue to be engaged in various professional activities, including as independent Director in a few companies," the statement read.

"I have replied to all IT notices received since 5th August 2019 and have been cooperating with the ongoing process of the Department," she added.

Sources said the IT Department is yet to receive a response to their notice.

Ashok Lavasa had made headlines ahead of the Lok Sabha election as the only dissenting member of the commission in cases of alleged Model Code violations by the Prime Minister and senior BJP leaders. Some of his objections involve the Election Commission's clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in six instances.

He soon stopped attending meetings, saying "minority decisions" were being "suppressed in a manner contrary to well-established conventions observed by multi-member statutory bodies".

"In the present circumstances, I am left with no option but to keep away from such proceedings," he wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.

The Chief Election Commissioner had said only minority views in quasi-judicial proceedings can be recorded in the orders and the decisions on poll code complaints are not quasi-judicial proceedings, so minority views need not be recorded.