In the latest development in the National Herald case, the Income Tax (I-T) department claimed that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had “escaped” incomes of more than hundred crores in 2011-12 in connection with land allotted to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL). AJL is the parent company of Congress party’s mouthpiece – National Herald. According to reports, both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi own 38 percent stake in AJL. Moreover, it was founded by none other than Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru himself.
According to an income tax order, the “escaped” income sums up to Rs 155.4 crore and Rs 155 crore for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi respectively for the year 2011-12. For the assessment year, Rahul Gandhi had filed a return for an income of Rs 68.1 lakh while the income of his party colleague Oscar Fernandes (also accused in the case) was Rs 48.9 crore, said I-T sources. The order further stated that the income is way over what was declared at the time of assessment.
Today on January 9, the Supreme Court heard an appeal of Congress leaders against the reopening of their tax assessment case. Senior Congress leader and Advocate, P. Chidambaram represented the Gandhi family before the court, where he said that a tax liability of Rs 44 crore against Gandhi family had been inaptly imposed after reassessing their income.
It must be noted that the reassessment order was passed on December 31, 2017, against Sonia, Rahul and Fernandes after they declared their income for the year 2011-12. This was kept in abeyance as the court examined the validity of the I-T department’s action. Challenging the reopening of the tax assessment before a bench headed by Justice A K Sikri, Chidambaram said that I-T officials’ decision defied “common sense” as they concluded that Sonia had an “escaped income” of Rs 141 crore in exchange of 1,900 shares in Non-profitable Organization ‘Young Indian’ (YI). Chidambaram further argued that the only asset of the company was the debt of Rs 90 crore but the I-T department erroneously fixed that at Rs 407 crore. The next hearing in the case will be held on January 29.
The National Herald case pertains to corruption charges against Congress’ top brass, especially Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Both are alleged to have minted millions from an ailing news agency called National Herald. National Herald had become defunct by 2008. According to the court proceedings, as made public, the accused are allegedly charged under the provisions of Indian Penal Code pertaining to misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy.
If the apex court decides to give its final verdict prior to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the National Herald case might turn out to be a major headache for the Congress. It has already been a touchy topic for the Congress leaders and especially, the Nehru-Gandhi family. A decision which is unlikely to go in their favour, coupled with the timing which is before the Lok Sabha elections, will only damage the reputation of the Congress.
