New Delhi, Aug 11: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Delhi government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to immediately begin removing stray dogs from all localities in the national capital, warning of contempt proceedings against any individual or organisation that obstructs the exercise, reports Bar & Bench. A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ordered that “NCT Delhi, MCD, NMDC shall at earlier start picking up stray dogs from all localities from more particularly vulnerable localities… this should be the first and foremost exercise to make all localities free of stray dogs. There should not be any compromise in undertaking the exercise.” The Court came down sharply on animal rights activists, remarking, “All these animal activists, will they be able bring back who have fallen prey to rabies?” It stressed that the directions were being issued “for the public interest” and that “no sentiments of any nature should be involved.”

The order further stated: “If any individual or organization that comes in the way of picking stray dogs or rounding them up, we will proceed to take action against any such resistance.”

“The State of NCT Delhi, MCD and NDMC is directed to create dog shelters and report this Court creation of such infrastructure within 8 weeks… The dog shelter would be monitored by CCTV.”

“Not a single stray dog should be released and if we know that this has happened, we will take stern action.”

The Court also mandated creation of a helpline within one week for reporting dog bites, with the requirement that dogs be rounded up within four hours of a complaint. Authorities have been told to publish details about rabies vaccine availability and stock, as well as maintain a daily record of captured dogs. The directions were issued in a suo motu case concerning rising incidents of rabies and deaths from stray dog bites. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Bench that plans to relocate stray dogs had previously stalled after activists obtained a stay order, and conveyed that families of victims supported the Court’s intervention. Observing that “the situation is grim” and that “immediate steps need to be taken,” the Bench fixed the next hearing after six weeks and warned that “any hindrances… would be viewed as contempt of court.” (Source: Bar & Bench)

New Delhi, Aug 11: The Income Tax Bill (No.2) 2025 – a major legislative move to replace the 63-year-old law governing income taxation for individuals and corporations – was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday in just three minutes, without any debate.

The Bill, which streamlines TDS, exemptions and other compliance-heavy provisions as also allows individuals to claim refunds without penalty on delayed filings, was passed as the opposition parties continued to disrupt proceedings over allegations of irregularities in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who had on August 8 withdrawn the Income Tax Bill, 2025 she had introduced in February, on Monday introduced an updated version incorporating recommendations made by a Parliamentary panel that scrutinised the legislation. Amid slogan shouting by the opposition, the bill was put to vote and passed by voice vote.

The Bill will now go to the Rajya Sabha for approval and thereafter to the President for assent. It will become law once the Presidential assent is provided.

The new bill reduces the size and complexity of the current Income Tax Act, drastically cutting the number of effective sections and chapters and nearly halving the word count.

“Almost all of the recommendations of the Select Committee have been accepted by the Government. In addition, suggestions have been received from stakeholders about changes that would convey the proposed legal meaning more accurately,” said the statement of Objects and Reasons of the Income Tax (No.2) Bill.

It does away with the confusing concepts of assessment year and previous year, replacing them with easier to understand ‘tax year’.

According to the revised Bill, individuals will be allowed to claim TDS refund even if their return of income is filed beyond the statutory timeline provided for filing of the original income-tax return.

Thus, the Finance Ministry has incorporated the provision of the existing Income Tax Act, 1961.

The Income Tax (No.2) Bill provides for ‘nil’ TCS on Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) remittances for education purposes financed by any financial institutions.

Nangia Andersen LLP Partner Sandeep Jhunjhunwala said deductions in respect of certain inter-corporate dividends for companies opting for concessional rate of taxes have been re-introduced in line with the provisions of the existing Income-tax Act, 1961

The provisions relating to the carry forward and set-off of losses have been appropriately amended and the reference to the beneficial owner has been omitted to align with Section 79 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

“By enabling refunds for belated returns and harmonising definitions of Micro and Small enterprise with allied statutes, the Bill reflects a balanced, pragmatic, and taxpayer-oriented approach,” Jhunjhunwala said.

While the Bill has welcome changes for enhancing clarity and reducing litigations, there seems to be no significant changes made to contentious provisions surrounding search and seizure in the virtual digital space.

The present act provides authorised officers to conduct search and seize assets and books of accounts of individuals who may be suspected to have any undisclosed income or documents in order to evade paying tax. This allowed the authority to break the lock on any door, box, or locker if they couldn’t find their keys or had cause to believe that any books of accounts or undeclared valuables were being stored there.

In the bill introduced in February, Clause 247 allows tax officers to bypass passwords and access digital platforms like emails and social media during searches if taxpayers refuse cooperation.

It stipulates that an authorised officer, in consequence of information in his possession, has reason to believe, can “break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe, almirah, or other receptacle for exercising the powers conferred by clause to enter and search any building, place, etc., where the keys thereof or the access to such building, place, etc., is not available, or gain access by overriding the access code to any said computer system, or virtual digital space, where the access code thereof is not available”.

This provision had sparked concerns around privacy.

The updated bill states that tax authorities can “break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe, almirah, or other receptacle or override the access code to any computer system … where the keys thereof are, or the access to such building, place, etc., or the access code to such computer system … is not available”.

While the ‘digital space’ is missing from the clause, it is included in the definition of computer systems.

Tax experts believe that starting April 1, 2026, when the new income tax law comes into force, income tax officials could get the authority to access individuals’ digital accounts, such as emails, social media, bank accounts, trading platforms, and online investments, if they suspect tax evasion.

New Delhi, Aug 11: Air India will suspend flights between the national capital and Washington D.C. from September 1, mainly due to non-availability of multiple Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes as the legacy aircraft fleet is undergoing retrofit.

The Tata Group-owned airline, which currently operates five weekly flights from Delhi to Washington using the Dreamliner, on Monday said the decision has been taken on account of a combination of operational factors to ensure reliability of its overall route network.

“The suspension is primarily driven by the planned shortfall in Air India’s fleet, as the airline commenced retrofitting 26 of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft last month. This extensive retrofit programme, aimed at significantly enhancing customer experience, necessitates a prolonged unavailability of multiple aircraft at any given time until at least end of 2026.

“That, coupled with the continued closure of airspace over Pakistan, impacts the airline’s long-haul operations, leading to longer flight routings and increased operational complexity,” Air India said in a statement.

Following the closure of the Pakistan airspace, Air India’s Delhi-Washington flights have a stopover at Vienna and the total flight duration, including the stopover time, is around 19 hours. On the return leg, there is no stop enroute and the flight duration is about 15 hours.

The airline said passengers having bookings to or from Washington D.C. beyond September 1 will be contacted and offered alternative travel arrangements, including rebooking on other flights or full refunds, as per their individual preferences.

At present, apart from Washington, the airline operates non-flights to six destinations in North America — New York, Newark (EWR), Chicago, San Francisco (US), Toronto and Vancouver (Canada).

Currently, Air India has a fleet of around 190 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft.

The retrofit of the legacy 26 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner planes is expected to be completed by July 2027.

“Air India customers will continue to have the options of one-stop flights to Washington D.C. via four US gateways — New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Chicago, and San Francisco – with the airline’s interline partners, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, allowing customers to travel on a single itinerary with their baggage checked through to the final destination,” the statement said.

In the wake of the fatal crash of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 plane enroute to London Gatwick from Ahmedabad on June 12, the airline, which has embarked on an ambitious five-year transformation plan, has made changes to its network, including withdrawal of flights on five overseas routes.

The airline, on Sunday, said that starting in early 2027, it will additionally retrofit 13 of its legacy Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, aiming for completion by October 2028, with the timeline having shifted due to supply chain delays.