The Karnataka High Court, in a relief to Congress leader D K Shivakumar dismissed the Income Tax Department appeals against his discharge in tax evasion cases.
The Income Tax Department had filed three criminal revision petitions against three separate orders passed by the Special Court, exclusively established to try criminal cases against MPs/MLAs in the city, in February 2019.
The Income Tax Department filed three complaints against Shivakumar for allegedly evading tax to the tune of Rs 3.14 crore, 2.56 crore and 7.08 crore for the assessment year 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively.
When a search was conducted by the Income Tax Department on August 2, 2017 at various premises, Shivakumar was at Eagleton Resort on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway, near Bidadi.
On seeing the Income Tax sleuths, Shivakumar allegedly tore a piece of paper and the same was treated as an attempt to destroy evidence. Later, it was found that he evaded tax.
Hearing the pleas of Shivakumar against the complaints, the Special Court discharged him from all three cases.
Challenging the same, the Income Tax department moved the High Court, filing criminal revision petitions.
A single bench of Justice John Michael Cunha while dismissing three petitions filed by the department said “I do not find any justifiable reason to interfere with the impugned orders. As the prosecution initiated against the respondent is bad in law and contrary to the procedure prescribed under the Code of Criminal Procedure and the provisions of the Income Tax Act.
The court concluded by saying “There is no presumption under law that every unaccounted transaction would lead to imposition of tax, penalty or interest. As a result, the very prosecution launched against the respondent being premature and illegal cannot be allowed to continue”.
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