-The Hindu   The Election Commission on Friday adjourned till November 11 the hearing on the complaint that Singhbhum MP and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda did not file his election expenditure account properly. There is also an allegation that he encouraged “paid news” during the 2009 Lok Sabha poll. Interestingly, one TV channel was paid Rs.1.25 crore to telecast news in his favour, according to an Income-Tax department report. The full...

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) will have powers to investigate and prosecute corporate entities under the Companies Bill, 2011, expected to be cleared by the Union Cabinet before Diwali.  The bill also envisages rotation of company auditors for higher accountability, corporate social responsibility, a more effective regulation of related party transactions and stricter provisions to prevent siphoning of funds through subsidiary and associate companies.  The government expects the bill to modernise,...

Investigating and law enforcement agencies are concerned over the growing number of attempts to misuse Right to Information (RTI) to settle personal scores and animosities, and make personal gains. A senior official from one of the investigating agencies told Business Standard that serious concerns were raised in several meetings convened by the government with the Income Tax Department, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and others in the recent past. “It has...

-The Times of India   Close on the heels of an application by Delhi Special Police Establishment, popularly known as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to add it as a party in the petition pending before the Kerala High Court challenging the exemption of central investigation agencies from the purview of Right to Information Act, 2005, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also approached the court to make it a party. When...

-PTI   The Bombay high court today questioned the source of wealth of Pune-based businessman Hasan Ali Khan, arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). "From where did he (Hasan) get so much money? Is it his or someone else's? No person can amass so much money through any decent activity. He must have committed some other offence (apart from what he has been arrested for)," Justice A...