On Tuesday, the Supreme Court sought a response from the Commissioner of the Central Income Tax Circle in response to a petition filed by the online news portal NewsClick, contesting tax notices issued against it.

Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih issued notice, giving the Income Tax Department two weeks to respond.

NewsClick has taken its case to the Supreme Court, challenging income tax assessment orders dated November 3, 2023, and February 20, 2023. In a previous ruling in November 2023, the Delhi High Court dismissed a plea by NewsClick, asserting that the news portal needed to address concerns regarding its financial dealings. The High Court stated that there was no prima facie case in favor of NewsClick.

In response to the High Court's decision, NewsClick has now appealed to the Supreme Court. The news site's counsel informed the court that the tax demands and pre-deposits have left them in a difficult position, making it challenging to pay salaries to their employees.

Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat, along with advocates Rohit Sharma, Nikhil Purohit, Jatin Lalwani, Rajesh Inamdar, and Anubhav Kumar, represented NewsClick in the Supreme Court.

Case: PPK Newsclick Studios Pvt Ltd v Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Central Delhi and Anr.