Madras High Court Quashes Income Tax Case Against Filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon In a significant relief to acclaimed Tamil filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon, the Madras High Court today quashed the criminal complaint filed by the Income Tax Department against him, bringing an end to a legal battle that had been pending for several years

[06/04, 15:38] sekarreporter1: http://youtube.com/post/UgkxS6pcmDGhu6i_D2hcToBzZp1-cqhGGH0h?si=WA4ocdksf-IJ7uiB
[06/04, 15:39] sekarreporter1: Madras High Court Quashes Income Tax Case Against Filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon

In a significant relief to acclaimed Tamil filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon, the Madras High Court today quashed the criminal complaint filed by the Income Tax Department against him, bringing an end to a legal battle that had been pending for several years.
The complaint, registered as E.O.C. No. 24 of 2019 on the file of the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Economic Offences), Egmore, had been filed by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Non-Corporate Circle-20(1), Nungambakkam, Chennai, alleging non-filing of income tax returns by M/s. Photon Kathaas Production Pvt. Ltd. for the Assessment Year 2013-2014 under Section 276CC read with Section 278B of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Menon, who was arrayed as Accused No. 3 in the case in his capacity as Director of the production company, had approached the High Court under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code seeking to quash the proceedings. Advocate Revathi Manivannan appeared on behalf of the petitioner Gautham Vasudev Menon and made compelling submissions before the Court.

The Court, while allowing the petition, noted that Menon had resigned as Director of Photon Kathaas Production Pvt. Ltd. on 02.05.2011 — well before the assessment year in question — and had duly filed the relevant forms before the Registrar of Companies, Shastri Bhavan, Chennai, intimating his cessation from the company. The bench observed that since Menon was neither a Director nor involved in the day-to-day affairs of the company during the relevant period when the alleged offence was committed, he could not be held vicariously liable for the company’s default in filing returns.

Advocate Revathi Manivannan, appearing for Menon, argued that the Income Tax Department had merely relied upon Menon’s past designation as Director without establishing his active involvement in the company’s affairs during the relevant period, and that the prosecution amounted to an abuse of the process of the Court.

With today’s order, all further proceedings in E.O.C. No. 24 of 2019 stand quashed insofar as Gautham Vasudev Menon is concerned.