India, Switzerland deny sharing 'black money' details

June 23, 2014

New Delhi/Zurich, June 23: Switzerland has not shared any information or given assurance on sharing details about Indian account holders in Swiss banks, where a major portion of India's "black money" is suspected to be stashed, governments of both countries said Monday.Swiss bank

"We have not received any official communication from Swiss authorities so far about sharing bank account details of Indians (who have) deposited unaccounted money there," India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters outside his North Block office here.

The finance minister was reacting on a media report that said Swiss authorities have prepared a list of names of Indian account holders and will share it with the Indian government.

Jaitley said there is no official communication so far, and the Indian authorities will send a request to Swiss authorities for sharing the information.

"Our communication will be sent today itself," Jaitley said.

The Switzerland government also rubbished the report.

"Since a high-level Swiss delegation met with its India counterparts in New Delhi in February 2014, no further official meeting has taken place.

There is no new development to be reported," the Swiss finance ministry said in a statement.

However, it said Switzerland looks forward to working together with the new Indian government in its fight against tax evasion.

"Switzerland is committed to resolving any open question with India and trusts that India shares its understanding that any solution can only be found within the established national and international legal frameworks," the Swiss finance ministry said.

The new Indian government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the black money. The 11-member SIT is headed by former Supreme Court judge M.B. Shah.

Jaitley said the Indian government looks forwardto work closely with Swiss authorities on the issue of black money.

"We are today writing ourselves to the Swiss authorities with whom the ministry has been in touch, so that details with regard to whatever information the authorities have can be expedited and the cooperation between the Swiss authorities and the government of India can bring fruitful results," Jaitley said.

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News Network
May 21,2020

New Delhi, May 21: As many as 5,609 new COVID-19 cases were reported in India in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cases in the country to 1,12,359 according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Out of the total cases, 63,624 are active cases, 45,300 patients have been cured/discharged or have migrated and 3,435 deaths have been reported.

With 39,297 cases in total, Maharashtra remains the worst affected state in the country, followed by Tamil Nadu (13,191 cases), Gujarat (12,537 cases), and Delhi (11,088 cases).

The nationwide lockdown imposed as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus has been extended till May 31.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kochi, Jul 30: The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant the extension for the stay of a 74-year-old US citizen, Johnny Paul Pierce, who had earlier said that he felt safer to remain in India than in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias, which considered the writ petition, observed that the grant or extension of visa to foreign nationals fall exclusively within the domain of the Government of India (GoI) and that judicial review in such matters is minimal.

The power of the GoI to expel foreigners is absolute and unlimited, the bench said.

"In view of the categoric declaration of law by the Supreme Court, the plea of the petitioner to permit him to stay back in India cannot be accepted, as it falls within the purview of the guidelines and the discretion of the Government of India," the order said.

"The petitioner cannot be heard that the guidelines/policies/regulations formulated by the Government of India, that an American national though has been granted a visa having validity of five years has to leave India within 180 days, is irrational or unreasonable," it added.

The High Court, which was hearing a plea to permit the US citizen to stay in India for a further period of six months, said that the petitioner does not have a case that there is an infraction of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"The petitioner was well aware of the visa conditions when he arrived in India, and it is too late in the day for him to raise a grievance on the visa conditions," the bench said noting that the petitioner's love for India was heartening.

The High Court also directed the Foreigners Registration Officer to consider the petitioner's representation within a period of two weeks in accordance with the applicable guidelines and policies.

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News Network
March 30,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 30: The Kerala chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has said that the state government's decision to sell alcohol to those with a prescription from doctors for having withdrawal symptoms is not a scientific one.

"Scientific treatment should be given to those who have alcohol withdrawal symptoms. It can be treated at home or in hospitals with medicines. It is not scientifically acceptable to offer alcohol to such people instead," a statement by IMA said.
The IMA said that they have taken the matter up with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The association said that the doctors have no legal obligation to provide a prescription for alcohol.

"Writing a liquor prescription can result in the cancellation of the right to treatment. We have brought it to the notice of Chief Minister," it added.

IMA state president Dr Abraham Varghese and state secretary Dr Gopi Kumar said that scientific treatments are good for those with withdrawal symptoms and added that if other methods are adopted it will only complicate matters.

Kerala government had earlier said that it was considering the option of online sale of liquor in the state to those with a prescription from doctors.

The decision had come in the backdrop of a country-wide lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

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