Income tax dept has formed panel to consider Jayalalithaa's plea, court told

CHENNAI: The income tax department has formed a committee to consider Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s applications to settle the 23-year-old IT returns case by paying penalty or fine.
A submission to this effect was made by K Ramasamy, special public prosecutor for IT cases, before additional chief metropolitan magistrate (economic offences) Egmore, hearing the cases against Jayalalithaa and her friend N Sasikala, on Thursday.
When the matter was taken up for hearing, Ramasamy said, “The compounding committee of the IT department has adjourned the proceedings to 2.30pm on August 27.” As such, the matter could be adjourned, he said.
R Dakshinamurthy, additional chief metropolitan magistrate, adjourning the case to September 4, passed a brief order, which read: “Considering the request made by the petitioners, and the pendency of compounding petition before the authorities, the petition (seeking adjournment) is allowed.”
In the morning, counsel for the chief minister had sought a two-week adjournment, saying the compounding pleas of the two were pending before the department.
To this, IT department’s prosecutor Ramasamy sought time till 3.30pm, saying the committee had convened a meeting to examine the applications of Jayalalithaa and Sasikala.
The income tax department had filed a criminal case against erstwhile Sasi Enterprises and its partners -- Jayalalithaa and Sasikala -- for their failure to file returns for two consecutive years (1991-92 and 1992-93). The IT department alleged that they had committed offences punishable under provision of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
On June 25, the chief minister and her aide Sasikala filed applications before the tax authorities offering to compound/settle the cases out of court.