The actor went to court after the Greater Chennai Corporation filed for property taxes for his Sri Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam, who is located in Kodambakkam.
Madras High Court warned actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Wednesday for appealing to the judiciary against a tax lawsuit for a wedding hall located in Chennai. The judge said the actor was wasting the court’s time and his lawyer has now agreed to withdraw the petition. The actor went to court after the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) requested taxes of Rs 6.50 lakh as property tax for his Sri Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam, who is located in Kodambakkam.
However, the actor, in his guilty plea, told the court that the marriage room has been vacant since March 24, 2020 because a closure had been announced to control the COVID-19 pandemic. He maintained that no income had been obtained during this period and, despite this, he received a property tax invoice from the Corporation on September 10, for the months of April to September.
He noted in his written request that he had canceled all reservations for his wedding hall after March 24 and even reimbursed the money in advance according to state government guidelines. He argued that he was therefore entitled to property tax forgiveness.
The petition cited the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act of 1919 which allows for a tax waiver if the premises remain empty for more than 30 days. Despite this, he claimed that he received a notice for the Chennai corporation to file the property tax. The case came before Judge Anitha Sumanth on Wednesday. However, the judge reprimanded the actor’s lawyer for going to court within 10 days of receiving the notice and warned that they could be fined for this.
Rajinikanth’s lawyer then agreed to drop the case. The court said a separate petition must be filed for the case to be dropped.
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