Allahabad:
Prayagraj: Justice Sandeep Jain, a sitting judge of the Allahabad High Court, has approached the high court challenging the denial of exemption of statutory allowances from his total income under the new tax regime.
Hearing the writ petition, a two-judge bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi asked the state government to apprise the court of the petition and fixed July 28 as the next date of hearing in the case.
Justice Jain, in his petition filed before the court, has challenged the denial of exemption of statutory allowances prescribed under Section 22D of the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954, from his total income after opting for the new tax regime.
Section 22D of the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954, exempts from income tax the value of a high court judge’s official residence, conveyance facilities, sumptuary allowance and leave travel concession.
According to the petition, when Justice Jain attempted to file his Income Tax Return (ITR-2) for the financial year 2025-26 under the new tax regime, the income tax portal allegedly did not permit him to claim exemption of Rs 9.85 lakh towards statutory judicial allowances, indicating that the benefit was available only under the old tax regime.
Justice Jain thereafter made representations to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
In response, he only received a communication referring to the CBDT Office Memorandum dated September 12, 2025.
The memorandum states that taxpayers opting for the new tax regime cannot claim such exemptions because the regime already provides liberal tax slabs, lower tax rates and higher rebates. Granting the exemption in addition would amount to extending a double benefit, it states.
