July 7: A division Bench of the Mumbai high court, headed by Chief Justice M B Shah, today sought to know if any other reasonable method of unearthing unaccounted wealth existed besides introduction of an amnesty scheme through a parliamentary legislation.

The division bench comprised, besides the chief justice, Justice Ranjana Desai. A matter challenging the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) by a group of tax practitioners was today taken up for hearing. The petition has been moved by the All India Federation of Tax Practitioners (AIFTP) and a tax practitioner, Vijay H Patil.

Opposing the writ, the government pleader, Rafiq Dada, sought time to file the government's response. The court asked the petitioners to suggest an alternative to the scheme, though it made it clear that it was not inclined to stop the scheme. The court pointed out that VDIS was the only reasonable way of tapping the unaccounted money. ``Other steps taken up by the government like conducting raids and search have not proved successful.''

The petitioners, however, alleged that introduction of such schemes had become as predictable as Planning Commission's five-year plans. On each occasion when similar schemes were introduced in the past, it was claimed that it was the last chance for the tax evaders to disclose their unaccounted income, claimed Dastur. ``For how long would these tax evaders enjoy the fruits of dishonesty?'' the petitioners asked. The chief justice said, ``The scheme should be judged by the legislature and not by the court. This is a parliamentary method of unearthing the black money...it's a policy decision.''

The court asked the petitioners if the scheme was unconstitutional. It added that there was no violation of the Constitution involved here, except for the reference made to the Article 14 by the petitioner which dealt with the `reasonableness.' The court has asked the government pleader to file an affidavit.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.