New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a PIL challenging income tax exemptions granted to donations made to political parties.
A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud said that the decision to grant IT exemptions is an "executive" action and did not violate any constitutional provision.
The bench said that the action didn't not violate the related provisions of the Income Tax Act, the Representation of People Act and the court cannot intervene in it.
Advocate M L Sharma, who had filed the PIL in personal capacity, had alleged that political parties have been granted IT exemptions in violation of constitutional schemes as this is not available to a common man.
The PIL had sought quashing of section 13A of the Income Tax Act and section 29 of the Representation of the People Act as being violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution as they only allowed political parties the IT exemption on donations.
The plea had also sought a direction to CBI to register an FIR and probe political parties and their funding in the wake of demonetization.
It had alleged that the legal provisions granting IT exemption to political parties were arbitrary in view of the fact that ordinary citizens are being taxed.
The Constitution nowhere recognised that a political party would be treated differently from ordinary tax-paying citizens, it had said.
