The Vohra Committee report considered to be one of the most authentic document on the emergence of “dangerous” nexus of politician, bureaucrats and underworld syndicates, came in for sharp focus in the Supreme Court on Wednesday in the context of Indians’ “black accounts” in tax heavens abroad.
Senior advocate Anil Diwan arguing a petition of Ram Jethmalani on the issue, drew the attention of the top court to the Vohra Committee report of 1993, which was not acted upon by the successive government despite being debated in Parliament and quoted extensively in the Jain-Hawala case verdict by the Supreme Court, while laying down guidelines for checkmating “while collar” crimes and creation of the office of CVC as watchdog against corruption.
“The Vohra Committee had specifically recommended to look into the emerging nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and the underworld syndicate mafias in the eighties,” Mr Diwan said quoting extensively from the report.
The committee had said that the “mafias were virtually running parallel government” and painted as “dismal picture” for the country’s economy if the nexus was not broken.
“But the government did not do any thing on the report and its evaluation has come true. The parallel economy has virtually surpassed the national economy,” Mr Diwan said while describing the figure of $1.4 trillion black money stashed in tax heavens by Indians as “mind boggling”.
The Vohra Committee
had warned that if the “nexus of politicians, bureaucrats and underworld mafias” was not immediately curbed it would pose a “grave danger” for the nation’s economy as well as governance. “But at the same time the committee had cautioned that breaking the nexus was not easy as money and muscle powers were being used for winning elections,” Mr Diwan argued.
He said in this backdrop, the intervention of the judiciary had become all the more “important” to issue a direction to the government to take steps to bring back the nation’s precious wealth when the countries with tax heavens were ready to “lift the veil” of secrecy if they were approached.
The committee also had drawn the attention of the government how the nexus posed a threat to the effective functioning of the “criminal justice system” as no person would muster a courage to depose against the mafias.
“The Vohra Committee had stated that the attachment and confiscation of the properties of the underworld syndicate would become virtually difficult,” Mr Diwan said while drawing the attention of the court to the Constitutional provisions, which gave a right to the people of the country to “know” how the nation’s wealth was allowed to be plundered abroad.