Chennai: The Madras High Court on Wednesday stayed the Income Tax (IT) notices to senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Chidambaram and his family with regard to an estate property at Coorg in Karnataka.

Chidambaram moved the court recently against the revival of assessment of IT returns filed by him and his family members six years ago, and seeking to dismiss the IT department’s demand notices and the reassessment.

The issue was with regard to petitioners claiming exemption of entire income from the sale of coffee and pepper from their estate in Coorg in Karnataka in 2008-09 as agricultural income under section 10(1) of the Income Tax Act.

In 2016, the IT department issued demand notices to Chidambaram, his wife Nalini Chidambaram, son Karti Chidambaram, daughter-in-law Srinidhi and granddaughter to pay Rs 6 lakh each after calculating the income generated from the estate.

However, the petition filed by Chidambaram said the IT department’s move in reopening the assessment and reassessing the income for 2008-09 six years later was “illegal and arbitrary.”

When the petition came up for hearing, Justice Rajiv Shakder said, “Pending adjudication of the writ petitions, the further proceedings pursuant to the demand notice are stayed.” The court also adjourned the hearing to March 16, 2016.

The 200-acre coffee estate was inherited by Chidambaram from his grandfather. Then the asset was split into five units, which were registered each in the name of Chidambaram, Nalini, Karti, Srinidhi and Chidambaram’s granddaughter.