SC seeks I-T Dept response on Karti Chidambaram's plea in tax evasion case

The Supreme Court Monday sought response from the I-T 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 I-T 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. 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 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 a land at Muttukadu but did not disclose it in their I-T returns.

The Deputy Director of 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 offences under sections 276 c (1) and 277 of the Income-Tax Act.

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