Cracking the shells

But the principle of natural justice should not be ignored

The government has intensified its crackdown on shell companies — while some 210,000 companies have been deregistered and their bank accounts frozen, pending further investigations, over 100,000 individuals who held directorships in these organisations have been disqualified. Professionals such as company secretaries and chartered accountants suspected of having enabled tax evasion have been placed under watch. The authorities have also threatened to apply penal provisions to any person who has attempted to siphon money from accounts of shell companies. This follows close on the heels of the decision by the capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India,