CHENNAI: Providing a huge relief, the Madras High Court on Friday quashed the prosecution proceedings initiated by the Income-Tax department against Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram's family members under the Black Money Act in the foreign assets non-disclosure case filed by the department.
A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad, which had already reserved its orders on the appeals filed by Mr Chidambaram's wife Nalini, son Karti Chidambaram and daughter-in-law Srinidhi, challenging the prosecution initiated by the IT department under the Black Money Act, also quashed the private complaints filed against them by the IT department before the EOW court, Egmore.
It also quashed the sanction orders issued by an IT department official seeking to prosecute them under the Black Money Act.
The Bench quashed the prosecution proceedings on the ground that the sanction orders were not issued in accordance with the law.
The Income-Tax authorities had filed a complaint against them over alleged non-disclosure of overseas assets, under Section 50 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act.
The case against them was that they failed to disclose a property they jointly own in Cambridge in the UK, worth Rs.5.37 crore.
Apart from this, the department has alleged that Karti Chidambaram had failed to disclose an overseas bank account he holds with Metro Bank in the UK and investments he had made in Nano Holdings LLC, USA.