The Forum for Good Governance, led by Soma Srinivas Reddy, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Telangana High Court challenging the government’s practice of paying income tax for the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.
On Wednesday, the Telangana High Court issued notices to the Principal Secretary and Chief Secretary of the General Administration Department (GAD), directing them to respond to the PIL regarding income tax payments for the Chief Minister and his cabinet.
The forum argues that income tax should be paid by individuals from their earnings, not by the government. They claim that income tax officials denied their request to provide information on how taxpayers’ money is being spent, citing individual privacy concerns. Reddy questioned how such expenditure could fall under the category of individual privacy.
The PIL also challenges the legal validity of Section 3(4) of the AP Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualification Act, 1953, which is still applicable in Telangana. The forum pointed out that the state government is also paying taxes for chairpersons of various state-run corporations, the Telangana Press Academy chairman, and government advisors.
Srinivas Reddy has urged the court to declare Section 3(4) of the Act “illegal and unconstitutional,” arguing that it violates Article 14 of the Constitution.
The petition notes that several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand, have already discontinued the practice of paying income tax for their cabinet members.