One of the alleged “benamidars” of AIADMK former general secretary V.K. Sasikala has preferred an appeal against the refusal of a single judge to interfere with an inquiry initiated by the Income Tax department into a group case of her having used ₹1,674.50 crore in demonetised currency notes to buy several malls and mills across the State in November 2016.
Justices R. Mahadevan and J. Sathya Narayana Prasad refused to pass interim orders on the writ appeal without hearing the I-T department. They directed the appellant’s counsel N.V. Balaji to serve the papers on M. Sheela, special public prosecutor of the I-T department, forthwith and posted the case to April 18.
The appeal had been filed by D.V. Balaji in connection with the reported sale of Spectrum Mall at Perambur in Chennai. His counsel pointed out that the proceedings initiated against all other individuals in the batch case was based on copies of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), recovered by the I-T sleuths, with respect to the alleged benami transaction.
“In my case, no MoU was recovered. It was only suspicion. My case is different from the rest. Proceedings were initiated against me not on the basis of reasons to believe but merely on the basis of suspicion. This distinguishing factor has not been taken into consideration by the learned single judge while dismissing my writ petition along with that of others,” he argued.
It was the case of the I-T department that Ms. Sasikala had used ₹1,911 crore of demonetised currency notes not only to purchase malls and mills but also to lend ₹237 crore to government contractor T.S. Kumarasamy of Tiruchengode-based Christy Friedgram Industry, which supplied provisions for the nutritious meal scheme in government schools.
The beneficiaries of the deal had faked their business accounts to deposit the demonetised currency notes in their bank accounts since the Centre had permitted such deposits till December 30, 2016. They had signed MoUs agreeing to sell their properties but the sale deeds did not get executed at all after she got imprisoned in the disproportionate assets case in February 2017.
In October 2017, she came out on emergency parole from the Parappana Agrahara central prison in Bengaluru for five days to meet her ailing husband M. Natarajan (since dead). Then, she stayed in the residence of her niece J. Krishnapriya at Habibulla Road in T. Nagar, Chennai.
Suspecting that the real reason behind obtaining parole was to take stock of the alleged financial transactions that were carried out after the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1,000 currency notes on November 8, 2016, the Income Tax department searched the T. Nagar residence and recovered photographs of a loose sheet from Ms. Krishnapriya’s mobile phone.
The sheet contained a list of properties and different figures written against those names with the words “paid” and “to be paid” and the niece reportedly conceded to have taken the photographs when her aunt was residing in her house. This led to an inquiry and the officials learnt of a novel modus operandi having been adopted to spend ₹1,911 crore of currency notes after demonetisation.
Promoters of high value properties such as shopping malls, paper mills, wind mills and resorts in Chennai, Coimbatore, Kancheepuram, Puducherry and Madurai were the targets for the crime. After finding that they were desperate to sell their properties but unable to get good offers, they were offered a handsome amount on condition that it would be in demonetised notes.
The currency notes were transported in cartons from various places, including the Kodanad Estate.
