Chennai: Madras High Court on Monday discharged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa from a case relating to filing of wealth tax returns for 1993-94.
Justice PR Shivakumar allowed a revision petition filed by Jayalalithaa against the July 8, 2010, order of the Economic Offences Court-I, dismissing her plea seeking discharge from the case.
The case was filed in 1997 on a complaint by the Assistant Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Central Circle-II, Chennai, alleging willful failure on the part of Jayalalithaa to file the wealth tax return for 1993-94 during her earlier tenure as chief minister.
The complaint had alleged that Jayalalithaa, in spite of being aware of her statutory duty, wilfully and deliberately contravened the provisions of Section 14 (1) of the Wealth Tax Act by not furnishing her returns by the due date and thereby committed an offence under Section 35 (B) of the Act.
In her petition in the high court filed in September, 2010, Jayalalithaa had said there was no wilful failure to file return of wealth within the due date since she was under the bona fide belief on the advice of the professional auditor that she need not file the return of wealth.
She had also said the trial court failed to note that on the date of filing the complaint, she had not possessed net wealth for filing wealth tax return.
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