SC imposes costs of Rs 20,000 on Commissioner Wealth Tax

New Delhi, Dec 1 (UNI) The Supreme Court today granted permission to the Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Patiala for filing response to the appeal of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh subject to the payment of the cost of Rs 20,000 for delaying his response for no justifiable reason.

Captain Amarinder Singh who has described himself as Maharaja Amrinder Singh has challenged three Punjab and Haryana judgments dismissing his petitions for quashing the proceedings launched against him for delay in filing of wealth tax returns with a view to evade wealth tax.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice C K Thakker was not convinced with the explanation offered by the counsel for the Wealth tax department for not filing its counter affidavit since 2005 and felt that the delay was deliberate for some extraneous considerations.

Captain Amarinder Singh was a Lok Sabha member at the relevant time and his defence is that being a busy person he failed to file his wealth tax returns in time and the delay was neither intentional nor deliberate and that there was no questiuon of evading any tax liabilities.

Amarinder Singh who was earlier very close to Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal and was a leading member of Akali Dal parted ways with his mentor.He belongs to the erstwhile ruling family of Patiala and likes to be addressed as Maharaja Patiala.

The court granted four weeks' time to the state to file its response.

The proceedings were initiated by the department against the Punjab CM allegedly for deliberately not filing returns in time to conceal his wealth.

UNI AKS/SC RP KN1755