Chennai: The Income Tax Department has frozen bank accounts of software services company Cognizant for alleged evasion of Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) but the firm said on Tuesday that its operations of the company were not affected by the action.

A company official also said that the Madras High Court had instructed the tax department not to take further action pending further hearings.

According to Cognizant, it has paid all applicable taxes.

The dispute pertains to Cognizant Technology Solutions India (P) Ltd buying its own shares from shareholders - two companies, one based in Mauritius and the other in US - in 2016 under a scheme of arrangement and compromise.

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Prayagraj, Jan 24 (PTI): The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition seeking direction to the state authorities to permit the mounting of loudspeakers on a Masjid.

The court observed that the religious places were for offering prayers, therefore the use of loudspeakers was not a matter of right.

Dismissing the writ petition filed by Pilibhit-resident Mukhtiyar Ahmad, a two judge-bench, comprising Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Donadi Ramesh, observed, "Religious places are for offering prayers to the divinity and use of loudspeakers cannot be claimed as a matter of right, particularly when often such use of loudspeakers create nuisance for the residents".

At the outset, the state counsel objected to the maintainability of the writ on the grounds that the petitioner was neither a mutawalli, nor did the mosque belong to him.

The court also noted that the petitioner did not have locus to file the writ petition.

The term 'locus' is a legal concept that refers to the right of a person or entity to participate in a legal proceeding or bring a lawsuit.