New Delhi: Government today filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on the action taken by it on the issue of black money stashed in foreign banks.

The affidavit was filed in response to a PIL filed by former law minister and eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani and five others who have been seeking a direction for the government to take action to bring back money to the tune of Rs70 lakh crore stashed in foreign banks.

When the petition was mentioned on 22 April before a Bench headed by chief justice K G Balakrishnan, additional solicitor general Gopal Subramanium had questioned the timing of raising the issue when the elections were underway.

Though the apex court had not issued notice, it had posted the matter for hearing on 4 May after the ASG had promised to file the affidavit within 48 hours.

He had said that action was already taken on the issue when it came to light in February 2008 and “the situation is totally under control”.

Besides Jethmalani, five others including former Punjab DGP K P S Gill and former secretary general of Lok Sabha Subhash Kashyap, who are petitioners, have alleged that government was not taking action on the issue.

However, the ASG had refuted the allegation saying that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his opening speech at the recent G-20 submit in London, had said that “there should be an absolute transparency and banking secrecy should be over”.