Priests, nuns in aided schools must pay income tax on salaries: Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has upheld a Madras High Court decision, ruling that salaries of priests and nuns working as teachers in government-aided schools are subject to income tax. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, dismissed an appeal challenging the taxation, stating that salary grants provided to schools cannot be exempt from Tax Deducted at Source (TDS).
The case initially saw a single judge in the Madras High Court rule that priests and nuns should be exempt from income tax, as per canon law, with the income directed to their diocese rather than personally retained. However, a division bench reversed this in 2019, leading to the current appeal in the Supreme Court.
During proceedings, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar argued that the funds bypassed the schools and went directly to dioceses, registered as charitable trusts under the Income Tax Act. However, the bench maintained that the government disburses funds to schools as salaries, making TDS mandatory.
Responding to arguments on the vows of poverty taken by priests and nuns, CJI Chandrachud stated that religious vows do not alter employment tax obligations, stressing that tax law applies uniformly. Despite references to past practices exempting priests from tax, the Supreme Court ruled that TDS deductions would apply, permitting priests and nuns to file for refunds if eligible.
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Kerala court sentences 20-year-old man in minor girl rape case
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court has sentenced a 20-year-old man to 21 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl after befriending her on a social media app.
Karunagappally Fast Track Special Court judge Rajeevan Vachal sentenced the convict to 21 years under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, special public prosecutor (SPP) N C Premchandran said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 lakh on the convict, the prosecutor said.
The incident occurred in 2024 when the accused befriended her on a social media app and then offered to take her to the Azheekal beach here.
However, instead of taking her to the beach, he took her to an isolated place behind the CHC hospital at Mynagappally here and raped her, the SPP said.
Following the incident, the girl attempted suicide, but was saved and then told the doctors what had happened, the prosecutor said.
The hospital authorities informed the police, who registered a case and launched an investigation.
The prosecutor said that seven witnesses were examined and 20 documents were submitted before the court to substantiate the guilt of the accused.
