The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed a batch of petitions seeking scrutiny and investigation into alleged discrepancies in election affidavits filed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, former Deputy Chief Minister and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, and BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan during the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan passed the order, bringing an end to separate challenges that questioned the accuracy of disclosures made by the three political leaders in Form 26 affidavits submitted along with their nomination papers.
In the case relating to Chief Minister Vijay, the petition was filed by Chennai resident V Vignesh, who sought an Income Tax investigation into alleged inconsistencies in the asset declarations made by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader in affidavits submitted before the Returning Officers of the Perambur and Tiruchi East constituencies.
The petitioner contended that Vijay had disclosed movable assets worth approximately Rs 115.13 crore in the affidavit filed for the Perambur constituency, whereas the affidavit submitted for the Tiruchi East constituency reflected movable assets worth about Rs 220.15 crore.
It was argued that the variation of over Rs 100 crore had not been explained or supported by any documentary material. According to the petitioner, the discrepancy raised serious concerns regarding suppression of assets, beneficial ownership, routing of funds and concealment of material particulars, warranting an inquiry by the Director General of Income Tax.
The plea further asserted that the contradiction could not be attributed to a clerical error or approximation and that either one of the affidavits or the corresponding corporate disclosures was incorrect. On that basis, the petitioner sought a detailed probe into the asset declarations and publication of the findings before the electorate.
The Court had earlier issued notice on the petition in April 2026 after observing that the alleged discrepancy of more than Rs 100 crore, if established, could amount to an irregularity. However, while dismissing the matter on Wednesday, the Bench noted that similar petitions seeking comparable relief had already been rejected.
In the proceedings concerning Udhayanidhi Stalin, the petitioner alleged discrepancies between the assets disclosed by the DMK leader in his 2021 and 2026 election affidavits. The challenge referred to alleged disappearance of previously declared assets, unexplained changes in loan liabilities, contradictions between affidavit disclosures and corporate records, and alleged mischaracterisation of financial transactions. The Income Tax Department had earlier placed certain observations regarding discrepancies on record through an affidavit.
The petition against BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan questioned the correctness of her income disclosures by comparing the details furnished in her 2026 Assembly election affidavit with declarations made during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. It was alleged that there were inconsistencies requiring further examination.
During the proceedings, the counsel appearing for Soundararajan opposed the plea and argued that any challenge relating to the validity of an election or disclosures made by a returned candidate could be pursued only through an election petition under Section 80 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
After considering the rival submissions and the material placed on record, the High Court dismissed all three petitions, declining to order any further inquiry into the election affidavit disclosures of Vijay, Udhayanidhi Stalin and Tamilisai Soundararajan.
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