Criminal nexus between Mayawati, relatives: CBI tells SC

New Delhi: The CBI today informed the Supreme Court that it suspect a “criminal nexus” between Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and her relatives and the disproportionate assets case against her cannot be closed on the basis of conclusions arrived by the Income Tax department. In a fresh affidavit submitted before the apex court, CBI rejected Mayawati’s stand that the DA case should come to an end after the income tax authorities had accepted her income tax assessments. [caption id=“attachment_83349” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. Image coutesy PIB”]  [/caption] The agency said “the investigation against the petitioner is based on cogent evidence available in the form of documentary and oral evidence which show that there is a criminal nexus between income of the relatives and the petitioner as well as between Ms. Mayawati and her donors and relatives”. Mayawati had earlier on the basis of a clean chit given by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal filed an application in the apex court to quash the case registered by CBI against her for owning various moveable and immovable assets far exceeding her known sources of income. CBI told the court that it would soon file the charge sheet against Mayawati before the Lucknow court and maintained the scope of criminal proceedings were different from civil proceedings including the immunity granted by the IT department. The agency, however, said the orders of the IT Commissioner granting immunity would be duly taken into account insofar as they were applicable to the DA case against her while filing the final report before the CBI court. Rejecting Mayawati’claims, CBI said “the findings of the Income tax authorities are relevant and material only for taxation purposes and cannot have any bearing on the material evidence collected during a criminal investigation. “The evidence collected during the course of criminal investigation into the DA case is to be appreciated in a trial court and the matter cannot be foreclosed by relying on the findings of the income tax authorities.” Mayawati had in an earlier affidavit said the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal held that the entire income for the relevant check period received by her by way of gifts or otherwise had been verified to be genuine and lawful. She said thus the entire DA case had fallen flat and no case of DA could be made out against her. She also said the Commissioner of Income Tax had granted immunity to her and CBI was bound to close the case against her. “As a result of the acceptance of the declared income, the assets do not exceed her income and therefore, there is no question of any disproportionate assets”, she had said. The case, which was to come up for hearing today before a bench of justices J M Panchal and H L Gokhale, was, however, not taken up and is slated to come up for hearing on Wednesday. PTI