The Madras High Court on Monday pulled up TVK chief Vijay over alleged inconsistencies in the assets declared for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, issued notice on a plea seeking probe into the alleged discrepancies. Besides Vijay, the notice was also issued to the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), the Election Commission of India, and the Returning Officers for the Perambur and Trichy East constituencies, where Vijay is contesting.
"This is an irregularity. More than Rs 100 crores has not been disclosed in one constituency," the court said in an oral response to the plea filed by V. Vignesh, a resident of Perambur, reported LiveLaw.
What is Vijay's net worth?
The actor, who turned to politics with the founding of his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), in March declared that he owns Rs 620 crore worth of assets.
In his election affidavit submitted to the Returning Officers of Perambur and Trichy East, Vijay reported that he has an income of Rs 184.53 crore, as per his IT returns for FY 2024-25. The sources include self-employment, interest, and rental income.
The petitioner alleged that Vijay declared immovable assets of Rs 115.13 crore in his Perambur affidavit, but listed Rs 220.15 crore in the affidavit for Trichy (East) segment.
On the other hand, his movable assets were valued at Rs 404.58 crore. These included Rs 2 lakh cash in hand, bank deposits exceeding Rs 213 crore and 883 grams of gold and silver articles worth Rs 15 lakh. He also owns luxury cars such as a BMW 530, a Toyota Lexus, a Toyota Vellfire, and a BMW i7.
In February, the Madras High Court confirmed the Rs 1.5 crore fine imposed by the Income Tax Department on Vijay after he failed to declare Rs 15 crore earned from the movie, Puli, in FY 2015-16.