Black money: Modi government says it can't disclose names.

Citing bilateral double taxation avoidance treaties, the Centre on Friday filed an application in the Supreme Court saying it cannot disclose the details of foreign accounts held abroad by Indians.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatagi told an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu that the government cannot reveal the names of those foreign account holders against whom no prosecution has been launched yet.

In its application, the Centre said that the foreign countries have objected to disclosing such information and if such details are
revealed then no other country would sign such an agreement with India.

Rohatgi said the revelation of names of Liechtenstein Bank account holders has been seriously objected to by the German government. He also said the government is on
the verge of signing important double taxation avoidance treaties with many countries, including the US in December.

"If names of those not prosecuted are given out, then it will dry up the foreign government sources which provide the information about
Indians stashing illegal money abroad," Rohatagi is reported to have told the apex court, which will hear the Centre's application
on October 28.

Responding to the Centre's stand, senior lawyer and petitioner in the case, Ram Jethmalani, accused the Narendra Modi government of shielding the corporates accused
of laundering black money abroad.

"Such an application could only be made by crooks who have illegally parked their ill-gotten money abroad and not by a democratically elected government," Jethmalani, whose plea the apex court had constituted Special Investigating Team on black money, said.

Jethmalani said that he has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue and his response is awaited.

The opposition Congress also hit at the Modi government, accusing it of double standards in the matter. "This shows double standards of the present government," party leader Anand Sharma said.

In a landmark order in 2011, the Supreme Court had said that all details of the alleged black
money stashed abroad must be made public.

The apex court had constituted the SIT headed by its former judge M B Shah on a plea of Jethmalani, who had moved the court for the purpose of getting black money back to the
country.

The Supreme Court had appointed its retired judges MB Shah as Chairman and Arijit Pasayat as the Vice Chairman of the SIT for providing
guidance and direction in the investigation of all cases of black money in the country and abroad.