SC notice to IT Dept on appeals by Karti Chidambaram, his wife in tax evasion case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday sought a response from the Income Tax department on the pleas of Congress MP Karti Chidambaram and his wife challenging the transfer of a tax evasion case filed against them before a lower court to a Special Court for MPs and MLAs.
A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy issued notice to the IT department on an appeal filed by Karti,, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, against the Madras High Court judgment.
The high court had dismissed the petitions filed by Karti and his wife to quash two criminal complaints under the Income Tax Act and the proceeding before the special court for MP/MLAs.
Issue notice, returnable in two weeks. The petitioner may serve a copy of these petitions to the office of Solicitor General, the apex court said in its order.
The matter relates to the alleged non-disclosure of Rs 6.38 crore incomes by Karti and Rs 1.35 crore by his wife Srinidhi Chidambaram in 2015.
According to the Income Tax department, Karti, elected to Lok Sabha from Sivaganga constituency in 2019 elections, and his wife had received the amount in cash for the sale of land at Muttukadu but did not disclose it in their I-T returns.
The Deputy Director of the I-T department, Chennai had filed a complaint on September 12, 2018, against the petitioners before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court-II (Economic Offences) for offenses under sections 276 c (1) and 277 of the IT Act.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
