The I-T department had registered six cases against Khanna for alleged false declaration of income under various sections of the Income Tax and Wealth Tax act in 1983. The total amount involved is Rs five lakh. Khanna has now been directed to be present in court on October 28. Khanna sent a fax message to the court on Tuesday saying he had engaged Advocate S P Munghate to appear on his behalf. However, another advocate, Mallik moved an application today on behalf of the actor-politician seeking exemption for a day.

The I-T department opposed the exemption plea on the ground that the court had earlier cancelled a non-bailable warrant against Khanna and directed him to appear today, which he failed to do. The court noted that Khanna has not given anyreasonable explanation nor produced any document to support his application for exemption. The Magistrate ruled that Khanna had shown carelessness and disregard towards court proceedings by staying absent. The case had been pending since 1983, and several proceedings had to be postponed because of the non-appearance of Khanna. The Magistrate also noted that Khanna kept changing counsels very frequently, and that they sought adjournments each time.