Saturday, August 19 2006 11:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today (Aug 19,2006) issued notices to the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate on a petition filed by Vipin Khanna, father of Aditya Khanna, who has been found by the Pathak Inquiry Authority to have received commissions in the Iraqi oil-for-food scam, seeking release of his impounded passport.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice S H Kapadia and Justice C K Thakker asked the Ministry of Finance and ED to file its reply within two weeks on a petition by Khanna seeking release of his passport to visit London for his treatment.

Khanna, a relative of former External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh, who according to the Pathak report, misused his influence for procuring the deal for his friends and relatives, sought quashing of three orders by the Directorate earlier this year to impound his passport for alleged violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.

His passport and other documents were impounded on the ground that there was violation of FEMA against the companies in which the Khanna family had control and interest.

The ED is still investigating the financial trail of the oil pay-offs which spreads across three continents.