Delhi High Court has upheld the decision of the Income Tax authorities to transfer the tax assessments of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from faceless assessment to its central circle.

The court's Division Bench, consisting of Justices Manmohan and Dinesh Kumar Sharma, made the ruling after reserving the order on March 15. A detailed judgment is still awaited.

In addition to the Gandhis and AAP, the court also upheld the decision to transfer the assessments of several non-profit organizations associated with the Gandhi family, including the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust, Young Indian, and Jawahar Bhawan Trust.

The Gandhis argued in their petitions that their assessments were transferred based on the "search and seizure" in arms dealer Sanjay Bhadari's case, even though they have no connection with him. They contended that only rare cases should go out of faceless assessment, and even then, they should be marked to the concerned assessment officer, not the Central circle. Their lawyer, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, highlighted that faceless assessment is the norm to avoid human contact and prevent any scope for unethical practices.

AAP submitted that the IT department's decision was arbitrary and lacked reasoning, asserting that it was in violation of statutory provisions. They argued that no investigation was pending against them, and therefore, there was no justification for transferring their assessment.

The IT department stated that the transfers in all these cases were within the city, and it is only when the transfer is from one city to another that the IT officer must give a hearing to the assessee. They further emphasized that the introduction of faceless assessment does not diminish the powers of transfer available under Section 127 of the Income Tax Act.

Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, along with advocates Kavita Jha, Vaibhav Kulkarni, and Anant Mann, appeared for the Gandhis and the five charitable trusts.

AAP was represented by advocates Amar Dave, Vivek Jain, and Abhinav Jain.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Additional Solicitor General Balbir Singh, and Senior Standing Counsel Zoheb Hossain, along with several other advocates, appeared for the Income Tax department.