The Madras High Court has ordered a temporary halt to tax recovery proceedings initiated by the Income Tax Department against the legal heirs of the late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, after finding shortcomings in the departmentâs actions.
The case centres on a demand notice issued to J. Deepa, one of Jayalalithaaâs legal heirs, requiring her to pay around âč13 crore in alleged tax arrears. Deepa challenged the notice, arguing that the tax authorities failed to clearly communicate the precise amount of tax liability and did not properly notify the heirs about the final demand. Another heir, Deepak, was also added as a party to the petition.
Hearing the matter, Justice C. Saravanan noted that the Income Tax Department has not filed a detailed counterâaffidavit despite earlier directions from the court. As a result, the High Court has directed the department to submit a full response and kept recovery actions in abeyance until further orders, providing temporary relief to the petitioners.