The Delhi High Court on Monday i.e on 09.09.2018 dismissed the pleas of Congress leaders
Sonia Gandhi and Its President Rahul Gandhi challenging reopening of their tax
assessments for 2011-12. A bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat
and A K Chawla said, "The writ petitions have failed." The bench also dismissed the petition of Congress leader Oscar Fernandes
who too had challenged reopening of his tax assessment for the same year. The high court had on August 16 this year reserved, its order on the pleas of the 3 leaders, after the Income Tax Department had contended that Rahul Gandhi's
tax assessment for 2011-12 was re-opened as material facts were concealed.
The bench had orally asked the tax department not to take any coercive step against
Sonia, Rahul and Fernandes till pronouncement of its verdict. Senior advocate P
Chidambaram, appearing for Sonia Gandhi, had said, he had faith in the oral
statement made by the Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Mehta had argued that the Congress leaders had alleged mala-fide on the part of
the tax department but had not made any arguments in this regard.
The income tax cases against the Congress leaders have arisen from the probe
into the private criminal complaint filed by BJP leader Subramania Swamy
before a trial court in connection with the National Herald case. In the complaint, Sonia, Rahul and others have been accused of conspiring to
cheat and misappropriate funds by paying just Rs 50 lakh, through which the
Young India (Y I) had obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that the
Associated Journals Ltd (A J L) owed to the Congress party.
It was alleged that Y I, which was incorporated in November 2010 with a capital
of Rs 50 lakh, had acquired almost all shareholdings of the A J L, which was
running the National Herald newspaper. In this process, Y I had also acquired A J L's debt of Rs 90 crore. The tax department had said the shares Rahul has in YI would lead him to
have an income of Rs 154 crore and not about Rs 68 lakh, as was assessed
earlier. It has already issued a demand notice for Rs 249.15 crore to YI for
the assessment year 2011-12.
The department's move followed its probe on a complaint alleging that the
Gandhis had misappropriated AJL's assets around ₹1600 to ₹2000 crores while
transfer -ring their shares to the newly formed Young India Pvt Ltd.