Chennai: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Chief Jayalalithaa received a legal setback on Thursday when an economic offences court declined to discharge her and her friend Sasikala Natarajan from four income tax cases.
The court held that there were prima facie sufficient grounds for proceeding against them.
Dismissing the discharge petitions filed by them, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, J V Raj, adjourned the cases for further hearing on July five.
The magistrate held that the petitioners have "willfully failed to furnish the returns till date". "The sanction accorded by the Commissioner of Income Tax is a valid sanction and the contention that the present proceedings are vitiated, on that score, is unsubstantiated," he said.
"The bona fides of the petitioners are still to be tested, substantiated and adjudicated and chances are still left open to petitioners at the time of trial," he added.
The cases relate to their alleged failure to file income tax returns as individuals for the assessment year 1993-94 and as partners in Sasi Enterprises for assessment years 1991-92 and 1992-93.
Earlier, counsel for Jayalalithaa, N Jothi, sought four weeks before framing of charges to provide him sufficient time to file revision petitions in the Madras High Court against Thursday's orders.
The Magistrate recorded his submissions and posted the cases for hearing on July five.
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