India legal analysis: Tax law definitions and plea bargaining concerns

Legal analyses in India highlight ongoing tensions between legislative intent and judicial interpretation regarding tax law and criminal procedure.

Regarding taxation, discussions focus on the scope of “slump sale” under Section 2(42-C) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Prior to amendments in 2021, litigation frequently arose over whether the term “sale” included exchanges or schemes of arrangement. While the Finance Act, 2021, expanded this definition to include various forms of transfer, legal experts argue that applying such changes retrospectively could undermine parliamentary supremacy and settled tax principles.

In the criminal justice sector, the effectiveness of plea bargaining in India is under scrutiny. Critics argue that the process may lack genuine voluntariness due to structural issues such as prolonged pre-trial detention, bail inequality, and inadequate legal representation. Despite refinements in the Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, concerns remain that the incentive of reduced sentencing may coerce individuals, including the innocent, into pleading guilty.