Do not waste court time: Judge to Rajinikanth on plea against tax demand

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth on Wednesday suffered an embarrassment when the Madras High Court warned of imposing costs on him for wasting court time by filing a case challenging the civic body’s demand for Rs 6.5 lakh in property taxes for a marriage hall owned by him during the Covid-19 lockdown period.

Justice Anita Sumanth warned Rajinikanth’s counsel, Vijayan Subramanian, that she would impose costs for wasting the court’s time and suggested that the plea be withdrawn immediately.

Read | Rajinikanth moves Madras HC against property tax demand of Rs 6.5 lakh

The judge also asked the petitioner to approach the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) by sending them reminders to respond to his representation seeking remission of property tax Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam in upscale Kodambakkam before approaching the court.

The superstar said in his petition that he had written to the GCC on September 23 seeking remission of tax under Section 105 of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act of 1919 arguing that the marriage hall has been lying vacant since March 24, the day Tamil Nadu went in for Covid-19 lockdown. The Act says the Commissioner can allow remission of property tax if the building has been vacant for over 30 days.

There was no reply from the GCC on his representation, Rajinikanth said in the petition, and asked the court to issue a direction to the civic body to not levy any penalty till it disposes off his representation. The actor approached the court as the last date for paying the property tax amount ends on October 15.

According to the GCC, property tax is collected twice every year – in April and October – and the same should be paid by 15th of the month. “If someone pays on time, he will get a five per cent rebate. If he does not pay on time, the person will have to pay a penalty. This has been the rule for long,” a GCC official said.

The GCC had also issued a detailed press release on September 28 asking people to pay their property tax on time to avoid penalty. The press release also explained in detail on the issue of property tax.