The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to hear on May 4 the petition filed by former law minister and advocate Ram Jethmalani and others seeking a direction to the government for taking action to bring back money stashed in foreign banks.
The government said it has already taken action on the matter and will file an affidavit regarding the issue within 48 hours.
The petition, which claimed black money to the tune of Rs 70 lakh crore (Rs 70 trillion) was stashed in foreign banks, was mentioned by senior advocate Anil Dewan before a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan.
Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian said the timing of filing the petition was mystifying when the election was round the corner.
He said the government had acted on the issue when it came to its notice in February 2008.
The ASG said the government is in total control of the situation.
He added that the petition has been filed on the basis of newspaper reports, which could not be relied upon.
'India seized of the issue of illegal money in foreign banks'
Countering Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani's charge that the United Progressive Allaince government has done little to bring back illegal money of Indian citizens stashed in secret foreign banks, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the government was fully seized of the matter and has taken all steps in this regard.
Denying charges that the UPA government was going slow in taking action against illegal money of Indian citizens stashed away in secret Swiss banks and other tax havens, Mukherjee said in a statement in a meet-the-press programme here that such reports were 'completely incorrect'.
He said that the BJP has submitted the report of its task force in this regard to him and to the prime minister, but there was nothing new in it. "We are fully seized of the issue and have taken all necessary steps," he said.
He said at the G-20 meeting in London the prime minister had specifically raised the issue of sharing information (relating to tax compliance) and bringing tax havens and non-cooperating undertakings under close scrutiny.
Advani had said last week that the National Democratic Alliance, if voted to power, would initiate 'vigorous action' in 100 days to bring back thousands of crores of rupees (trillions) stashed away by Indian nationals in secret Swiss accounts and tax havens.