Former income taxDG gets clean chitin corruption case

Chennai: A former director general of income tax has been acquitted in a

corruption

case registered 12 years ago. Charged with helping a company escape with tax evasion to the tune of several lakhs, a special court for CBI cases here gave him a clean chit as the investigating agency could not master enough evidence.

N P Tripathy, who faced the charges when he was the commissioner of I-T, Chennai, recently retired as the director general of the department.

In September 2002, after conducting raids in the office and official residence of Tripathy, the CBI registered a case against him and five others associated with a private hospitality company for offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption under IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The central agency alleged that when Tripathy was commissioner of I-T during 2000-01, he issued a certificate to the company enabling it to sell its properties attached by the department for pending tax dues to the tune of Rs 73 lakh.

Originally, when the firm approached the department to provide a certificate to enable disposal of its properties, then joint commissioner concerned had recommended that such a certificate should not be granted as the company had to pay huge dues to the department.

Subsequently, the official concerned went on leave and Tripathy, given additional charge of the former’s office, issued the certificate.

Special judge G Vijayalakshmi noted that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the officer beyond reasonable doubt and acquitted him from all the charges.