E-Paper
HC restrains trial court from proceeding further in I-T cases against Amarinder, son
Dept moved the high court in 2019 against Nov 2018 order of the court of Ludhiana additional sessions judge
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday asked a Ludhiana trial court not to proceed further in income tax cases against Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh and his son Raninder Singh.
The high court was hearing the income tax department’s plea that the trial court be restrained from passing the final order, pending the listing of three petitions on the issue before the bench.
The IT department had told the bench that the trial court is likely to pass the final order in view of a revisional court quashing the summoning order against the two. Both are aware of the proceedings in the high court but have not appeared as notice could not be served on them since 2019, when the HC took cognisance of the matter. After February 2020, the matter could not be taken up due to the pandemic. On July 22, the I-T department had moved the HC demanding the hearing in its 2019 plea be advanced.
“This court is of the opinion that the CJM should not pass any further orders on the complaint,” the bench of Justice GS Sandhawalia observed, posting the matter for November 18 and also asking that both be served the notices for adjourned date.
The I-T department had moved the high court in 2019 against the November 2018 order of the court of additional sessions judge, Ludhiana, quashing the summoning order passed against Amarinder and Raninder in these cases. A trial court had earlier issued summons to both to appear in person in three cases of alleged tax evasion and amassing wealth in other countries.
Both are facing allegations of furnishing false statements and willful omission in providing required information to the I-T department that had filed criminal complaints against them in a Ludhiana court in 2016.
As per the department, the two were beneficiaries of foreign assets maintained and controlled through various business entities and also of foreign bank accounts with a Geneva-based bank.
