CHENNAI: A court here today issued a nonbailable warrant (NBW) against M Natarajan, husband of deposed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala, and three others in connection with a case of evasion of duty while importing a luxury car from the UK 23 years ago.
The Eighth Additional Judge of the Principal Special Court for CBI cases, A Thiruneelaprasad, issued the NBW based on a November 17 Madras High Court order, upholding the trial court order sentencing the accused to two years in prison in the case.
The counsel for the CBI approached the court, seeking issuance of NBW citing the recent Madras High Court order.
Natarajan and three others were convicted for conspiracy, forgery, cheating and tax evasion and sentenced to two years in jail in the case by the court in 2010.
All the accused appealed against the CBI court order.
When the pleas came up before the high court on November 17, it had dismissed their petitions and directed the trial court to secure the accused and remand them in judicial custody to undergo the remaining period of the sentence, if any.
The case relates to the import of a Toyota Lexus car in 1994, declaring it as a "used vehicle" and thereby allegedly evading tax to the tune of Rs 1.06 crore.
The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate registered separate cases against Natarajan and three others after it was found that the documents presented by them were fabricated.
According to the CBI, Natarajan, his nephew V Bhaskaran, Yogesh Balakrishnan and Sujaritha Sundararajan substituted the original sale invoice with a photocopy of an invoice fabricated by changing the vehicle's manufacturing date to July 1993.
They cleared the car under transfer of residence provision, and thereby caused a loss of Rs 1.06 crore to the exchequer by way of short levy, penalty and redemption fine, the CBI said.