Today, the Delhi High Court rejected four new petitions filed by the Indian National Congress (INC), seeking to contest the initiation of Income Tax (IT) reassessment proceedings by the IT Department.

A division bench comprising Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav dismissed the petitions following mutual agreement between the Congress and the IT Department. Both parties acknowledged that the latest petitions were addressed by a recent judgment of the Court concerning specific assessment years.

On March 22, the Court had previously rejected petitions filed by the Congress to contest re-assessment proceedings for the assessment years 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17. Today, the Court similarly dismissed four latest petitions concerning different assessment years, for which the IT Department had initiated fresh scrutiny.

In recent weeks, the Congress party has found itself embroiled in numerous tax-related proceedings. It has accused the Union government of deliberately aiming to "cripple" it financially ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Despite its attempts, the party has faced successive dismissals from the courts in its efforts to challenge the proceedings initiated by the IT Department.

On March 22, the Court dismissed the petitions filed by the Congress challenging reassessment proceedings for the years 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17. Additionally, the Court noted that the IT Department had "substantial and concrete evidence" under the IT Act, warranting further scrutiny into the income of the Congress party.

Likewise, on March 13, the Court dismissed a plea filed by the Congress challenging an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) that denied its request for a stay on the demand notice issued by the IT department for the recovery of approximately ₹105 crore in outstanding taxes. The bench comprising Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav stated that there were no grounds to intervene with the ITAT's decision.

Nevertheless, the Court granted permission to the Congress to submit a new application for a stay before the ITAT, taking into account the recent developments, such as the recovery of ₹65.94 crore from the party in the interim period.