Jan 31, 2018
The income tax department has initiated action against Shah Rukh Khan under the Benaami Properties Act and has taken possession of his Bungalow in Alibaug, on the outskirts of Mumbai.
The Benaami property act is invoked against people who usually hold properties in India in somebody else’s name whereas the money is paid by him. In SRK’s case, the main allegation is that he had got farmland at a preferred price (as farmlands are priced lower than commercial lands) and then built his farmhouse on it. As per a complaint filed with the IT department, the department has provisionally attached actor Shah Rukh Khan’s bungalow in Alibaug by terming it benami property and filed a report before an adjudication authority to confirm the attachment. SRK has been served a notice and he has to file a reply before the authority within 90 days. Once the adjudication authority confirms the attachment, I-T authorities are free to initiate criminal action.
The attachment notice was issued last month to Deja Vu Farms under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act. As per the website of the Registrar of Companies, Deja Vu Farms Pvt Ltd was incorporated on December 29, 2004, with interests in crops, gardening, and horticulture. The land was transferred in the company’s name with the condition that it will be used for farming within three years. Namita Chhiba, Ramesh Chhiba, and Savita Chhiba are named as its directors. The Chhiba families are close relatives and family of Gauri Khan. The farmhouse covers 19,960 sqm and has a swimming pool and private helipad. There is no trace of farming on the land that has been acquired by De Ja Vu Farms. It has also been alleged in the notice that the swimming pool constructed in the Bungalow is a violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Act which prevents such constructions in the Coastal Regions of Maharashtra.
It has been reported that Shah Rukh Khan gave an unsecured loan of Rs 8.5 crore to Deja Vu Farms, officials said.
SRK’s legal team is yet to respond to the crisis.
