Madras High Court admits income tax appeal against K.N. Nehru

The Madras High Court has accepted an income tax appeal on August 7, 2026, filed by a Principal Commissioner of Income Tax against a ruling in favor of K.N. Nehru, a former DMK Minister and current Tiruchi (West) MLA. The case centers around discrepancies in the income tax returns filed by Nehru from 2013-14 to 2015-16. The IT Department alleges that Nehru had unexplained income of approximately ₹17 crore and made unexplained investments of ₹11.98 crore during the same period.

In January 2018, the department surveyed the business premises of GSNR Rice Industries Private Limited and Sri Narayan Reddiar Modern Rice Mill, owned by Nehru's brother, K.N. Manivannan. Several items, including a diary, notebook, loose sheets, computer, CPU, laptop, and pen drives, were seized. The data retrieved from these devices contradicted the income tax returns filed by Nehru, revealing undisclosed transactions.

The Assessment Officer subsequently re-assessed Nehru's income, adding the unexplained income and investments in 2019. Nehru appealed the decision three times, each time through the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) and the ITAT. However, all appeals were dismissed by the ITAT, stating that the impounded documents were unreliable evidence and could not support any adverse inference against Nehru. The High Court's admission of the appeal suggests it will now consider the case further.