The Central government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court decision to stay proceedings against Gautam Khaitan, an accused in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam, under the Black Money Act of 2016.
Govt. notification
The HC had stayed the proceedings on the basis of a petition filed by Mr. Khaitan challenging a government notification that gave retrospective effect to the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act from July 2015. The law was enacted in April 2016.
A Vacation Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna agreed to hear the case on May 21.
The High Court had restrained the Income-Tax Department from taking any action against Mr. Khaitan, saying he had made out a “good prima facie” case of grave prejudice if the proceedings were allowed to continue.
“At this stage we are prima facie of the considered view that, the official respondents could not have exercised powers granted to it under the provisions of Sections 85 and 86 of the said Act, prior to the enactment itself coming into force, in terms of the provisions of Sub-Section [3] of Section 1 of the Act,” the HC had observed
“The respondents [I-T Department and Finance Ministry] are, therefore, restrained from taking and/or continuing any action against the petitioner [Khaitan], pursuant to the impugned order dated January 22, passed by the respondent No 2 [I-T Department] till the next date of hearing. Renotify on July 4,” the High Court had ordered.