Shanti Bhushan fined Rs 27 lakh

Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan was today found to have evaded stamp duty to the tune of Rs 1.35 crore in the purchase of a prime property here and slapped with a fine of over Rs 27 lakh on the outstanding amount.

Shanti Bhushan, former law minister and a key member of Team Anna, was fined Rs27 lakh for allegedly evading a Rs1.34-crore stamp duty while buying a plot in Allahabad. He has been given a month to deposit the fine along with the stamp duty.

The property was purchased in the name of Shanti Bhushan and his family members in November 2010 for Rs19.23 crore. Bhushan is the third member of Team Anna to have been involved in controversies after Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal. Earlier, Bhushan was involved in a controversy concerning a CD in which he was reportedly requesting a politician to intervene in a court case.

The amount of stamp duty in Bhushan’s case was assessed by the assistant registrar. But as Bhushan defaulted on the payment, the issue went to the office of the IG, registration.

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Later, though Bhushan argued for lowering the amount, the IG favoured the original assessment. Bhushan termed the order “illegal” and said he would challenge it. “This order has been clearly made under political pressure … and contrary to the law clearly laid down by the Supreme Court,” he said.

With inputs from Delhi