NEW DELHI, Aug 24 � The Centre today told the Supreme Court that the SIT appointed by it to probe and unearth the black money stashed abroad needs to be scrapped as the investigating agency cannot function like a �super power�.
Attorney General G E Vahanvati making a plea for recall of the apex court�s July 4 order on the SIT said the Government had �very serious� reservations on the directions which had also cast aspersions on sincerity of the Government in tackling the black money menace.
�It (SIT) can�t act as a super power or you forget Parliament. If the SIT has to function it needs funds. But it is finally Parliament which has to approve it,� Vahanvati told a bench of justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar.
He alleged that the earlier bench headed by Justice B Sudershan Reddy(since retd) of which Justice Nijjar was a member had passed an erroneous judgement in which it was commented that the Government was weak, soft and hand-in-glove with mafia elements.
�We had passed the orders after going through the proceedings. The team is the same except the two judges,� the bench remarked pointing out that the SIT was initially constituted by the Centre and the apex court had merely incorporated the names of retired SC judges justices B P Jeevan Reddy and M B Shah.
The Attorney General argued that the wide powers conferred on the SIT has �dislodged every authority under the various Acts like FEMA, Income Tax, Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
�How can the Deputy Governor of RBI, the Director of RAW become an investigator. Director of the RAW, many people even do not know his name. He is a faceless person how can he be brought to investigate?� Vahanvati asked.
However, senior counsel Anil Divan appearing for the petitioners Ram Jethmalani and others said there was nothing wrong in the setting up of the SIT as the apex court had done in a number of earlier cases like the Bandhuva Mukti Morcha and the post-Godhra Gujarat riots. The arguments would resume tomorrow. � PTI
