SC to hear SLP filed by Sonia and Rahul on Dec 4 in IT assessment case

The Congress has maintained that the Supreme Court will hear on December 4 a special leave petition filed by United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and senior party leader Oscar Fernandes, challenging a Delhi high court order upholding the Income Tax department’s decision to re-open the Income Tax assessments of the petitioners for 2010-11.

“The matter was admitted by the Supreme Court and it has agreed to hear it on the December 4. Appearing for the Income Tax Department, the government counsel was offered the option of either having a notice issued and the matter stayed or to agree to have the matter heard at an earliest date.

“The government counsel chose to have the matter heard at the earliest,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.

He said the Supreme Court also sought an assurance from the government counsel to not to have any proceedings in this case in the interim. “The government counsel agreed,” Tewari said.

A Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice AK Sikri and Justice Abdul Nazeer, while hearing the matter on Tuesday accepted the assurance of solicitor general Tushar Mehta that the re-assessment would not proceed till the apex court finally hears the arguments.