In a setback to the Congress leadership, the Delhi High Court on Friday rejected the petition filed by Young Indian Private ltd to quash the Income Tax Department’s proceedings against it. Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young Indian Private ltd in which Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes too are stakeholders.
The Congress leaders had approached the court against the I-T notice served to them in the National Herald case. After the court refused to stay the I-T proceedings, they withdrew the petition.
“We are not inclined to entertain your writ petition. It is better you withdraw it and approach the Income Tax assessing officer,” a Bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Chander Shekhar said. Expressing displeasure, the court directed them to first approach the I-T Department and submit all required documents.
“In case it is still not satisfied, the company can move the court thereafter,” the Bench said.
At one point, when Congress lawyers insisted that the judges send a notice to the I-T Department, the Bench observed, “Don’t be so arrogant.”
Sensing the mood of the Bench, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the firm, withdrew the petition.
Unfazed by the development, the Congress asserted it was proud to be associated with the National Herald and blamed the media for misrepresenting the facts. The party alleged that Government agents and proxies were now circulating false unsigned notes to the media from the hearing in the Delhi High Court.
“We are proud to be associated with the National Herald. The media is misrepresenting facts,” Congress leader Singhvi said at an All-India Congress Committee Press conference.
On the other hand, addressing a Press conference here, senior BJP leader and Union law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad referred to the allegations against Congress leaders and alleged that the National Herald, a Congress-run newspaper, had become a sort of “family property “, something which had never happened during late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s time.
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have 38 per cent shares each in the private company Young Indian which was floated in late 2010. Other Directors of the controversial company apart from Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes are Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda.
After the Metropolitan Magistrate summoned the Congress leaders in the case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who accused them of grabbing properties worth Rs 5,000 crore of National Herald by floating Young Indian, the I-T Department slapped notices on the shareholders.
Young Indian had approached the High Court seeking a direction to stay the I-T proceedings and quashing of re-assessment notices issued against it. The counsel for the I-T Department opposed the petition, saying the firm has not moved the assessing officer and hence its plea was not maintainable. The trial court has fixed the next hearing on May 15 regarding the summoning of further documents in the case.