New Delhi:
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) KG Balakrishnan has reacted to the controversy over his unwillingness to disclose his Income Tax returns. A query under the Right to Information act had been filed with the Income Tax department at Kochi by T Balachandran, an RTI activist.
Speaking to NDTV, Balakrishnan, whose family is under the Income Tax department's scanner for amassing wealth beyond known sources of income, said had already disclosed his assets.
"I wrote to authorities not to disclose my I-T returns because it has my PAN number and bank account number. These details may be misused and that is the reason I wanted the authorities not to disclose my I-T returns, nobody would like to reveal personal details," said Balakrishnan.
Justice Balakrishnan had declared his assets in November 2009 which are available on the Supreme Court's website
The former CJI owns:
- A house of unknown value in Kanayanur in Kerala
- A flat worth Rs 5.75 lakh in Ernakulam
- A plot in Faridabad worth 4.75 lakh
- Land in Ernakulam worth Rs 4.3 lakh
- Family property in Vaikom valued at Rs 3.5 lakh
- 20 sovereigns in gold and
- A Santro car
He has no investments in shares or fixed deposits.
The I-T department is probing how assets of Balakrishnan's son-in-law PV Sreenijan allegedly multiplied from Rs. 25,000 to many crores during Balakrishnan's tenure as the Chief Justice of India.
His brother K G Bhaskaran, who resigned on January 8 as Special Government Pleader in the Kerala High Court, is also under the scanner for buying sixty acres of land in Dindigul in Tamil Nadu, allegedly undervaluing the price.
Former Supreme Court Judge Justice VR Krishna Iyer had also made allegations that he was approached by a judge not to take Justice Balakrishnan's kin's assets issue too far.
Ironically, in 2009, as Chief Justice he had declared his wealth, then valued at about Rs 22 lakh.
But eminent jurists say he should make his income tax returns public too.
"Doubts should not linger in public's mind. When assets have been declared, nothing wrong in revealing the IT returns," said Justice JS Verma, Former Chief Justice of India.
It's not only Justice Balakrishnan against whom there are allegations, but others as well - the latest by a Congress MP about a Supreme Court judge taking a bribe.