I-T can assess returns of Rahul, Sonia but not pass orders: SC
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the go-ahead to the income tax department to carry on with the tax assessment of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi for 2011-12 in connection with the National Herald case.
A bench led by Justice AK Sikri, however, restrained the department from implementing any order in the proceedings until the court rules on an appeal filed by the Gandhis.
Rahul and Sonia Gandhi , and senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes approached the SC, questioning the reasoning of a Delhi high court order that allowed the department to reopen the tax proceedings.
The judges clarified that permitting the department to continue with the tax assessment did not mean they were expressing any opinion on the merits on the petitions. The next hearing in the case was fixed for January 8, 2019.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, arguing for the income tax department, urged the court to not to pass the restraint order. He asked the judges to hear the matter and pass appropriate orders. Mehta, however, withdrew his request after the judges said that they would not be able to hear the matter due to a shortage of time. “Its just an interim order which should be equitable to both the parties,” Justice Sikri said.
The HC order under challenge before the SC was delivered on September 10. The verdict dismissed a plea by the Gandhis and Fernandes against the reopening of their tax assessments. The appeals were first heard by the top court on Nov 13. Since the income tax department was represented by a counsel the bench did not issue a formal notice. At the last hearing, senior counsel P Chidambaram, appearing for the Congress leaders, said the question raised in the appeals was whether the reasons given in the notice by the department were right or not. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arvind Dattar are also leading the argument for the Congress leaders.
The IT probe against started after BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a private criminal complaint against them, accusing them of financial irregularities at National Herald, a publication started by first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. All the three have been granted bail in the criminal case.