CJI asks Centre for info on big tax cases
New Delhi, Feb. 23: Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar has written to the Union finance ministry to provide details of major tax cases pending with the Supreme Court, in case a ruling in one case has a cascading effect in disposing of several others.
Listing out initiatives taken by the apex court in reducing the pendency of cases, he said, “So far initiatives that we have taken, we have tried to collect data even from the finance ministry relating to cases where, on tax issues, where there could be a cascading effect. So I wrote to the secretary of the department asking him whether he can point out the cases where there is a cascading effect so that we decide one and lot of other cases of different levels can be disposed off.”
Justice Khehar was speaking Wednesday night at a book release function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was attended by President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other dignitaries.
The CJI also said he had asked the finance ministry to find out whether there were certain cases which could have major financial impact so that, “rather than the matter pending in the courts, it will decide whether the government needs that money and gets it immediately, or doesn’t get it. One way or the other.”
In a polite snub to Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Justice Khehar said the judiciary was the body which passed orders and was functioning within its “boundaries”.