The Madras High Court restrained the Income Tax (IT) Department from passing any further orders relating to the centralisation of accounts of the ruling DMK party and the DMK Charitable Trust. The matter is connected to proceedings against senior DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Duraimurugan, a former party treasurer.The order was passed by the First Bench comprising Chief Justice M.M. Shrivastava and Justice Arul Murugan.
In April 2019, IT officials conducted search and seizure operations at the premises of Duraimurugan. While assessment proceedings were underway, in January 2021, the IT Department sought to centralise assessments of the DMK, the DMK Charitable Trust, and Duraimurugan himself, transferring them to a single officer in the central circle.
Challenging this move, the DMK and the Trust filed writ petitions before the Madras High Court. On May 9, 2024, Justice C.S. Saravanan allowed the petitions, ruling in favour of the party and the Trust. The IT Department later appealed against this order.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan, assisted by standing counsel AP Srinivas, argued that the IT Department had the power to centralise cases to ensure better coordination.
On the other side, Senior Counsel P. Wilson, also a DMK Rajya Sabha MP, assisted by advocate Richardson Wilson, argued that the procedure under Section 127 of the IT Act had not been followed. He contended that the order was passed hurriedly, just before the 2021 Assembly elections, and that merely because a case against the Secretary of an association was pending, it did not justify centralising the assessment of the entire association without valid reasons.
After hearing both sides, the First Bench issued notice on the IT Department’s appeals and directed that no further orders or assessments be finalised in relation to the DMK, the Trust, or Duraimurugan until further orders.