Bombay High Court Grants Interim Relief to Anil Ambani in Rs 420-Crore Tax Case

The Bombay High Court in Mumbai has granted interim protection to industrialist Anil Ambani from prosecution or penalty by the Income Tax Department in an alleged Rs 420-crore aggregate tax demand case.

A division bench of Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla passed the order on Monday during a hearing on Ambani's petition. The court clarified that while the ongoing appeal filed by Ambani before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) can proceed and orders can be passed, no coercive action shall be taken against him until the final disposal of his writ petition.

The tax dispute centers on Rs 800 crore allegedly held in two Swiss accounts. Ambani had filed his petition in 2022 to raise a constitutional challenge against several provisions of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015. He alleged that these provisions violate fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

During the hearing, Ambani's senior counsel, Prakash Shah, argued that the Black Money Act came into force in 2015, while the transactions in question relate to the assessment years 2006 and 2010-11. Shah argued that criminal provisions cannot have a retrospective effect, relying on Article 20 of the Constitution.

The High Court admitted Ambani's petition after hearing arguments from both Shah and the Income Tax Department's counsel, Akhileshwar Sharma.

The bench noted that the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Black Money Act has been challenged in other writ petitions filed in 2018, 2019, and 2025. The court has previously granted interim relief in those cases as well.

The High Court has now directed the Income Tax Department to file its replies within four weeks. The court will hear Ambani's petition together with the other pending matters that raise similar legal issues.