Chennai: Two weeks after coming down heavily on popular Tamil film actor Vijay, the Madras High Court on Thursday pulled another popular actor Dhanush for seeking entry tax exemption for his luxurious Rolls Royce car imported from UK in 2015.
When the petition filed by Dhanush came up for hearing, Mr Justice S M Subramaniam, who had handled the Vijay's case and imposed Rs one lakh fine on him for seeking entry tax exemption, the court pulled up Dhanush for seeking permission to withdraw his plea as he was willing to pay the tax by August nine.
Counsel for Dhanush submitted that the actor had already paid 50 per cent of the tax and he was now willing to pay the rest of the amount. He also sought permission from the court to withdraw the plea.
Refusing to allow him to withdraw the plea, Mr Justice Subramaniam said “If your intentions are genuine, you should have paid the tax at least after the Supreme Court settled the issue in 2018."
"But now after the high court listed the matter for passing the order, you are seeking to withdraw", the judge said.
“You are going to drive the luxury car on the roads laid using the taxpayers' money. Even a milk vendor and a daily wage labourer are paying taxes for every litre of petrol they buy. No such person approaches the court seeking exemption from such taxes. At least I have not seen such a plea in my experience," he said.
"No doubt that it is your right to move the court. But you should have paid the tax and withdrawn the petition at least after the Supreme Court had settled the issue in 2018,” Justice Subramaniam said.
The Judge observed when ordinary people pay taxes, why do you refuse to pay tax when buying a luxurious car.
The Judge also reminded Dhanush that everyone is equal before law even if get paid in crores.
The Judge posed a series of questions to Dhanush, including for not disclosing his profession that he is an actor, and directed him to pay the taxes. (UNI)
