Madras High Court Petition Seeks FIR Against Actor Vijay Over Tax Irregularities

Legal Action Against Actor Vijay

Chennai: A writ petition has been submitted to the Madras High Court, requesting the initiation of a First Information Report (FIR) against actor C. Joseph Vijay, who is also the President of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). This petition pertains to alleged income tax discrepancies associated with the 2015 film 'Puli'.

The High Court Registry has assigned a number to the petition, which is anticipated to be reviewed soon under the heading 'For Maintainability'.

Originally filed last month, the plea faced initial rejection from the Registry for numbering.

However, on April 8, the division bench led by Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan instructed the Registry to proceed with numbering the petition, contingent upon its maintainability.

The basis of the plea lies in income tax investigations that commenced following the release of 'Puli' in 2015. Documents cited in the petition indicate that the Income Tax Department conducted search and seizure operations at locations associated with Vijay on September 30, 2015. During these operations, materials were reportedly uncovered that suggested unreported cash transactions.

It is alleged that producers P.T. Selvakumar and Shibu from SKT Studios compensated Vijay with Rs 4.93 crore in cash, in addition to Rs 16 crore paid via cheques for his work on the film.

The petition claims that Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) was only submitted for the cheque payments, neglecting the cash component.

During the tax inquiry, Vijay was reportedly interrogated by Income Tax officials regarding these transactions. The petition states that he acknowledged receiving nearly Rs 5 crore in cash related to the film and consented to pay taxes on this amount. Furthermore, to resolve the issue amicably and assist the department, he voluntarily reported an additional income of Rs 15 crore for the financial year 2015-16, which included the disputed cash transaction.

On July 29, 2016, Vijay submitted his income tax returns for the assessment year 2016-17, declaring a total income of Rs 35.42 crore, which encompassed the additional income disclosed. His returns also included claims for asset depreciation amounting to Rs 17.81 lakh and exemptions for fans’ club expenses totaling Rs 64.71 lakh.

The current writ petition is now calling for criminal proceedings and the registration of an FIR based on the findings from the Income Tax investigations.