Law Ministry seeks more information in ITAT case

The Law Ministry is in the process of seeking more information from CBI and other agencies to take a final call on the investigative agency's request seeking sanction to prosecute 20 members of IT tribunal for their alleged role in outsourcing writing of judgements to private individuals to favour them.

Sources in the Law Ministry said the information provided by the CBI while seeking such sanction was "not sufficient" and the Ministry was in the process in getting "more documents and information" from the agency as well as the Income Tax department.

The Law Ministry has administrative control over the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ( ITAT).

The move comes close on the heels of a meeting between Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia and Law Minister Salman Khurshid in which the former is learnt to have asked the government to ensure that the controversy does not linger on for long.

A Supreme Court Judge heads the appointment panel of ITAT.

The CJI had written to the Law Ministry in this regard in February, 2011.

The CBI has been seeking sanction from the ministry since 2008 to register a preliminary inquiry against 20 members of the ITAT posted in various benches across India.

The agency alleged that these members had outsourced writing of judgements to private parties to favour them.

The ministry had recently granted sanction to the CBI to file a charge-sheet in a Kolkata court against suspended tribunal member Jugal Kishore and five others.