Rajesh Khanna to face verdict

A local court will deliver its verdict on November 17 in a bunch of cases filed against actor Rajesh Khanna for concealment of income from 1976 to 1982.

Arguments concluded last week before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate C L Thool, who reserved his judgement.

The Income Tax department has contended that concealment of investment from 1976 to 1982 in Ashirwad mini theatre owned by film star Rajesh Khanna amounted to evasion of tax which was an offence.

Public Prosecutor Arun Gupte contended that Khanna had admitted to have made investment in Ashirwad mini theatre in the name of his actress wife Dimple for sentimental reasons.

In a letter to the IT department on June 18, 1982, Khanna had admitted that he had not declared that investment in on the returns of income and wealth filed by him because of his hectic schedule and strained relations with his wife. Khanna had stated that he was willing to declare the investment in his returns, the court was told.

The IT department harped on Khanna's admission of concealment of investment in the mini theatre, irrespective of income, earned or otherwise. The prosecutor said that it was obligatory on his part to declare the investments and failure to do so was an attempt to evade tax, which might be chargeable on any income that may have been earned from the mini theatre.

Failure to show investment had led to false verification in the returns of income and wealth. Khanna had thereby committed offences under 276 C and 277 of IT Act and 35 A and 35 D of wealth tax act, he argued.

Prosecutor Arun Gupte contended that the excuse given by the actor for not declaring investments in his returns was not genuine. For instance, he said Khanna had claimed some jewellery which was supposed to be given by him to his estranged wife Dimple.

On the other hand, Khanna told the court that he did not own Ashirwad mini theatre, whose partnership was between his estranged wife Dimple Kapadia and producer Shomu Mukherjee.

Khanna's lawyer, I P Bagadia, denied the IT department's claim that the actor had concealed wealth to evade tax in the assessment years between 1976-77 and 1981-82. He had also refuted allegations about his client furnishing false information in income tax returns for assessment years 1976-77 to 1979-80.

Denying that Dimple was a benami partner, Khanna said the theatre had come up merely because he wanted to make his wife an independent person. That is when Dimple and Shomu Mukherjee entered into a partnership, Khanna arranged for the loans to support the venture.

Khanna revealed that he had advanced Rs 75,000 as loan to Dimple in the very first year. Subsequently, she borrowed Rs 2.61 lakh from producer Shomu Mukherjee and Rs 25,000 from filmmaker J Om Prakash. All the loans were paid through cheques and were reflected in the books of accounts of concerned persons, he told the court.

The actor now faces five cases for concealing wealth tax and three for alleged income tax evasion.

PTI