A writ petition has been submitted to the Madras High Court requesting the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) President C. Joseph Vijay. The petition is related to alleged income tax irregularities associated with the 2015 Tamil film “Puli.” The High Court Registry is expected to list the petition soon under the caption “For Maintainability.”
The petition, initially filed last month, faced a delay in being numbered by the Registry. However, following a directive from the division bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan on April 8, the petition was numbered subject to maintainability. The plea is based on income tax proceedings that began after the release of “Puli” in 2015.
According to the documents cited in the petition, the Income Tax Department conducted search and seizure operations at locations linked to Vijay on September 30, 2015. Allegedly, materials indicating unaccounted cash transactions were found during the operation. The records suggest that Vijay received Rs 4.93 crore in cash from producers P.T. Selvakumar and Shibu of SKT Studios, in addition to Rs 16 crore paid through cheques as remuneration for the film.
The petition highlights that Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) was only deposited for the cheque component and not for the purported cash payment. Vijay, during the tax proceedings, reportedly acknowledged receiving nearly Rs 5 crore in cash related to the film and agreed to pay taxes on the amount. To resolve the issue amicably, he voluntarily disclosed an additional income of Rs 15 crore for the financial year 2015-16, which included the alleged cash transaction.
Vijay filed his income tax returns on July 29, 2016, for the assessment year 2016-17, declaring a total income of Rs 35.42 crore, inclusive of the disclosed amount. The returns also included claims for asset depreciation worth Rs 17.81 lakh and exemption for fans’ club expenses totaling Rs 64.71 lakh. The writ petition now seeks criminal action and the registration of an FIR based on the findings from the Income Tax proceedings.
