Jayalalithaa vexed over link-ups with Hasan Ali

Chennai : All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) chief J Jayalalithaa on Monday slapped legal notices on three media houses, including Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)?s official mouthpiece, for linking her with India’s top tax evader Hasan Ali Khan.

Accusing the media houses for carrying ?frivolous and defamatory? reports, Jaya sent notices to Mumbai-based evening tabloid Mid-Day, Chennai-based DMK’s official mouthpiece Murasoli and Kalaignar TV.

Jaya said she will take legal action against them if they didn?t apologize to her. She said the apologized must be printed in the first page of the dailies, while Kalaignar TV must broadcast it.

“My client states that the report by Mid-Day quotes an anonymous investigating officer as saying that investigations into huge cache of money in the possession of Hasan Ali Khan, who is at the center of a controversy for reportedly evading Income Tax to the tune of several thousand crores, pointed to ‘a woman politician, who was also Chief Minister of a state from South India,? said Jaya?s lawyer P H Manoj Pandian in the notice.

?This is mischievous, scurrilous, malicious and insinuating journalism at its very worst,” he said.

“My client states that the above referred news item does not contain an iota of truth. The news item is false, frivolous and defamatory with the intention of maligning my client in order to cause loss of reputation to her and the party she leads,” he said.

Pandian said Jaya had suffered a loss that ?cannot be quantified? due to the reports.

“It has to be done immediately on receipt of this notice by all of you, failing which my client would be constrained to institute necessary and appropriate civil and criminal action against you, jointly and severally to restrain you from indulging in such reckless, frivolous and irresponsible allegations and publishing the same, apart from claiming damages for the loss of reputation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khan was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday.

The Income Tax tribunal reported asked the 54-year-old Ali to reply to their notice within 15 days. Ali reportedly had not paid his tax evasion penalty worth Rs 40,000 crore.

The move followed a day after the Supreme Court questioned the Centre?s delay in acting tough against black money hoarders and also ordered reinstatement of three important ED officials, who were transferred midway into a probe of alleged foreign exchange law violation by Pune businessman Hasan Ali Khan.

Taking serious note of the government?s failure to crack the whip on the offenders, a bench of justices B Sudershan Reddy and SS Nijar said that it would appoint a special officer to supervise the probe if the government does not act fast.

On Khan?s case, the apex court bench questioned the government over reasons for failing to take him and other alleged offenders to custodial interrogation even though there was enough evidence against them.

?What is in the way of taking action against Hasan Ali? How many years will investigations continue against Ali?? the court questioned.

The Pune businessman is facing charges of stashing around USD 8 billion in foreign banks and had been earlier served tax notice for about Rs 50,000 crore.

The Supreme Court bench dismissed attempts by Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium to make submissions, saying, ?What the hell is going on in this country.?

On the three key Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials transferred abruptly midway through the probe into black money hoarders, the court directed that they be reinstated immediately.

The government has been granted time till Tuesday to file its response, failing which the court would be constrained to pass necessary orders.