HP: Plea in HC filed to question why Govt paying tax for mins, MLAs
Shimla: In the backdrop of the AAP government in Punjab cracking whip on pensions being drawn by former legislators, a petition has been filed in Himachal Pradesh High Court questioning how come the state government continues to pay Income tax,on behalf of sitting ministers and MLAs—cutting across party lines.
Himachal Pradesh HC on Monday issued notice to the state government giving it, beside the leader of opposition and lone CPM, six weeks' time to file replies, on behalf of the ministers and MLAs.
The petition was heard by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua and subsequently found merit to issue notice to the state government and others, on the plea of Petitioner Yash Pal Rana and three others. The petitioners challenged the clause of the HP Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pensions of Members) Act, 1971, whereby the Members of the Legislative Assembly and the Ministers are exempted from paying the income tax on the income earned by them along with various allowances and perquisites. Further the petitioners also pointed to similar provisions of The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Himachal Pradesh) Act, 2000, by virtues of which again the Ministers are exempted from paying the income tax on the income so earned by them in the form of salaries, allowances and other perquisites granted to them under these Acts.
The petitioners alleged that Himachal Pradesh Government was paying upto Rs 1.78 crore as income tax of the MLAs and the ministers from the date of incorporation of the provisions in these Acts.
They prayed that the Section 6AA of Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances & Pensions of the Members) Act, 1971, which provides that the salary and compensatory, constituency, secretarial, postal facilities and telephone allowances exclusive of the income tax should be declared to be unconstitutional and may be quashed and set aside.
The petitioners also urged that the Section 12 of the Salaries & Allowances of Ministers (Himachal Pradesh) Act, 2000, which provides that salary and allowances payable shall be exclusive of income tax may also be declared to be unconstitutional and may be quashed and set aside. Recently the AAP government in Punjab had decided that former legislators will be entitled to only one pension as against their repeat of the terms, during which they had served the House.
