Income Tax Appellate tribunal rejects Rahul Gandhi's plea to make Young India a charitable trust

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on Friday rejected former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's application to make Young India a charitable trust terming it a commercial organisation. With the rejection of the application by the tribunal, the Rs 100 crore income tax case against him will open again.

In 2018, the Gandhis and senior Congress leader Oscar Fernandes had challenged the September 10 verdict of the Delhi High Court, that dismissed their plea against the re-assessment of their income tax for 2011-12 in connection with the National Herald case, in the Supreme Court.

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An apex court bench had granted them the liberty to approach the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal for expeditious hearing of the pending appeal challenging the retrospective cancellation of registration granted to Young Indian under the I-T Act.

Notably, the matter is related to the National Herald case in which other Congress leaders are also facing criminal proceedings.

On December 4, 2018, the apex court had allowed the I-T department to re-assess the tax of the top Congress leaders but restrained the department from "giving effect" to its order.

The I-T probe against the Congress leaders started following a private criminal complaint filed by senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy before a trial court in connection with the National Herald case. Currently, Gandhi along with Oscar Fernandes are out on bail.

The trial court had granted bail to interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul in the case on December 19, 2015.