Delhi HC scraps income tax reassessment proceedings against NDTV founders

New Delhi | Desk: A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Monday quashed the reassessment proceedings initiated by the Income Tax Department against NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy. The bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar not only dismissed the department's notices but also reprimanded the Income Tax Department and directed it to pay Rs 1 lakh each to the two petitioners as compensation.

The court made strong observations in the case, stating that while no amount could be considered sufficient for these matters, this symbolic penalty was being imposed on the department.

The case dates back nearly a decade, with the Income Tax Department alleging that interest-free loans were given to RRPR Holding Private Limited, a company owned by the Roy couple.

The Roys had approached the court in 2017, arguing that initiating repeated proceedings for the same assessment year was a violation of the law.

They contended that the department had already investigated the same matter in 2011 and passed an order in 2013, and therefore, raising the same issue again amounted to merely "changing its opinion," which is not permitted under the law.

The High Court accepted their arguments and completely dismissed the department's plea to reopen the closed case.