The Income Tax Department today slapped a penalty of Rs. 10,000 on RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s MP daughter Misa Bharti for non-compliance of summons and issued her fresh summons in connection with its probe in the Rs. 1,000 crore alleged benami land deals and tax evasion case.
Bharti was supposed to appear before the investigating officer (IO) of the case, but officials said she failed to keep the date.
The IO has levied a penalty of Rs. 10,000 against her for non-compliance of summons under section 131 of the Income Tax Act with a show cause notice to her in this regard, officials said.
She has now been asked to appear on June 12, they said, adding the department’s queries in this case were to be answered by Bharti and not by any of her authorised representatives.
They said the summons required Bharti to appear in person today and join the investigation along with some personal financial documents.
It was not clear if Bharti gave any reasons to the department for her non-appearance or she sent a lawyer to represent herself, which was rejected by the department.
Bharti’s husband, Shailesh Kumar, has also been summoned in the same case by the department for tomorrow.
The department wants to question the couple to take the probe further in this case, where the taxman had conducted multiple searches last month.
A chartered accountant, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, allegedly linked to Bharti and others, was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 22.
Agrawal is alleged to have aided in illegal transactions involving Lalu’s kin.
Officials have earlier said that the summons to Bharti and Kumar were part of the probe in the case and their statements will be recorded.
The couple allegedly have links with a firm — Ms Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited– which is suspected to have entered into benami deals for purchase of a farm house in Delhi’s Bijwasan area.
Certain other property deals were also under the scanner of the taxman, they had said.
The department is expected to slap provisions of the newly-enacted Benami Transactions Act, 1988, which became operational from November 1 last year, in this case. The law provides for a maximum punishment of seven years in jail and a fine.
