Delhi HC junks Cong plea challenging tax re-assessment proceedings by I-T Dept

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the Congress' petition challenging the tax-assessment proceedings initiated against it by the Income Tax (I-T) Department.

Pronouncing the order, the division bench comprising Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said, "We dismiss the writ petitions."

This comes as a fresh jolt for the Congress as the party's top brass held a presser on Thursday and trained guns at the Narendra Modi government, accusing it of blocking its funds and making it a "handicap" in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Sonia Gandhi in a rare press conference, joined by Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders, claimed that the party bank accounts were frozen by the I-T Department at the behest of the Modi government, with a motive to derail Congress' poll campaign. The Congress leaders had accused the ruling party of vendetta politics, claiming that the I-T authorities were digging 'tax lapses' of Assessment Years 1994-95, when Sitaram Kesri was the party president.

Notably, the High Court on March 20 had kept order reserved on the Congress' plea against the tax re-assessment proceedings against it.

The Congress has found itself in the midst of tax tangle, as the I-T Department initiated 'tax recovery' against the party for three successive financial years - 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.

During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, arguing for Congress, sought to portray the case as "null and void", claiming that the tax authorities were barred by limitations and the department can't go back a maximum of six assessment years. However, he failed to prove his point, leading to the dismissal of pleas regarding tax re-assessment of the Congress, pertaining to FY 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.