Shah Rukh Khan’s Alibaug farmhouse, where he often
conducts parties and get-together, the most recent one being his birthday bash
(Nov 2), has been attached by the Income Tax Department.
According to a report in Business Standard, the
attachment notice was issued under the Prohibition of Benami Property
Transactions Act (PBPT) in December, 2017.
The business portal spoke to a senior I-T officer who
confirmed the development and said, “Under Section 24 of the Act if the
investigating officer believed that the person is benamidar, he can issue the
attachment notice to that person or beneficial owner (if identity is known).The
law says that the attachment of the property can be done for a period not
exceeding 90 days from the date of issuance of the notice.”
As per IT department, the circle rate of the attached
property is Rs 146.7 million.
Deja Vu Farms is a luxury property and is spread over an
area of 19,960 sq metres, well-equipped with amenities such as a swimming pool
and private helipad.
Reportedly, an e-mail was sent to Shah Rukh Khan’s
company Red Chillies Entertainment and Kolkata Knight Riders's chief executive
officer on January 24 but it remained unanswered despite several reminders.
The major allegation against SRK is that he had made an
application to purchase agricultural land for farming, but instead constructed
a farmhouse at Alibaug for personal use.
According to the IT investigation report, the said
transaction falls under the definition of “benami transaction as per the
Section 2 (9) of the PBPT Act, where Deja Vu Farms has acted as benamidar for
the ultimate benefits of SRK. Thus, the actor is a beneficiary for the said
under the prescribed law.
The report also states that according to the Maharashtra
Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, without the permission of the collector or
state government, one cannot transfer agricultural lands to non-agriculturists.
“The intention behind incorporating Deja Vu was to
purchase agricultural lands which at present were being used by SRK as his
farmhouse. Since Khan could not have purchased the said land in his individual
capacity, a mechanism was devised in the form of Deja Vu, which showed its
activity as farming. Deja Vu Farms was incorporated by two shareholders--
Srinivas Parthasarathy and Somasekhar Sundaresan in the year 2004. In December
2004, the share transfer certificates were signed by the first shareholders in
the name of Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan. The first director was replaced by
three directors--Ramesh Chhiba, Savita Chhiba and Moreshwar Rajaram Ajgaonkar
on the same day,” the report noted.
Here are some more highlights from the IT investigation
report as stated by Business Standard:
-SRK lent an unsecured loan of Rs 84.5 million to Deja Vu
Farms.
-In 2011, Namita Chhiba was appointed as director of Deja
Vu in place of Ajgaonkar.
-The IT investigation revealed that till date, the
company has not shown any income from farming activity. The investigation
report suggests that all the unsecured loans from SRK were being used towards
the purchase of land by Deja Vu. Also, Ramesh Chibba, Savita Chibba and Namita
Chibba are Shah Rukh Khan’s father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law,
respectively.
-The only income source of the farm was by way of the
loan which was advanced by SRK to his company, which ultimately was owned by
the actor himself.
-The report alleged that the control of the company was
always with SRK as the directors are relatives of the actor.
Image Source: Manav Manglani & twitter/ab