After close to 18 years, the income tax (I-T) department’s proceedings against former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa and her close associate Sasikala in four cases ended today.

The chief metropolitan magistrate here discharged both individuals after the prosecution said it had wished to withdraw the cases.

On July 30 last year, Jayalalithaa and Sasikala filed a petition before the I-T department Chennai to have the charges compounded (settled for a fine) and to end the litigation.

A letter dated November 26, 2014, issued from the office of the deputy commissioner of I-T, Chennai, said the request had been accepted “subject to remittance of the amount determined”. It asked Jayalalithaa to remit the amount within 60 days from the date of receipt of communication.

The department has instituted criminal proceedings by filing complaints in 1996 against Jayalalithaa and Sasikala for not filing returns in their individual capacity for 1993-94.

Again, in 1997, the department had filed two complaints against both for failing to file returns for the assessment years 1991-92 and 1992-93. Since then, the four complaints had been pending before the additional chief metropolitan magistrate.

Meanwhile, a court in Bengaluru heard for a third day the arguments in the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa.

Jaya, Sasikala and three others were sentenced to four years of imprisonment in the case by a lower court. Jayalalithaa was also fined Rs 100 crore.

All of them are out on bail, pending the appeal proceedings.