Apex court rejects PIL calling TDS system 'forced labour'

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the assertion that the system of collecting Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) constitutes "forced labour", as it declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the constitutionality of the TDS framework.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI:

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar dismissed the PIL under Article 32, stating that the petitioner could raise his grievances before the Delhi high court.

"You may have some points somewhere in the petition, but it is not properly drafted. You revise your petition and go to the Delhi high court first," the bench advised advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who had alleged that the current TDS framework violates several constitutional provisions, while imposing an undue burden on taxpayers without any remuneration for their efforts as tax collectors.