Chennai, June 3 (IANS) The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition seeking a direction to the Income Tax Department to investigate AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami over allegations that he concealed details of his assets and income in his election nomination papers.

Palaniswami, who successfully contested the Edappadi Assembly constituency in the recently concluded Tamil Nadu Assembly elections and was sworn in as a Member of the Legislative Assembly, has come under legal scrutiny following a petition filed by a voter from the constituency, Sakthivel Perumal.

In his petition, the voter alleged that Palaniswami had failed to disclose complete details of his assets and income in the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers.

The petitioner further contended that there were significant discrepancies between the affidavits filed by Palaniswami during the 2021 and 2026 Assembly elections.

According to the plea, a comparison of the two affidavits revealed several inconsistencies in the declaration of assets and income.

The petitioner claimed that material information had been suppressed and sought a court direction ordering the Income Tax Department to conduct a detailed investigation into the alleged omissions and discrepancies.

The matter came up for hearing before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, Aravind Dharmadhikari and Justice Arul Murugan.

During the proceedings, counsel appearing for the Income Tax Department argued that similar issues had already been addressed through detailed judicial orders in earlier cases. The department maintained that the present petition was not legally maintainable and that disputes relating to election affidavits and nomination disclosures could be challenged only through an election petition under the relevant provisions of election law.

Accepting the submissions, the Bench observed that the relief sought by the petitioner could not be granted in the present proceedings. The judges noted that the appropriate legal remedy in such matters lies through election-related proceedings and not through a writ petition seeking a direction to the Income Tax Department.

Recording the submissions and relying on the legal position governing election disputes, the Madras High Court dismissed the petition seeking an investigation against Palaniswami.

The ruling effectively brings an end, for now, to the attempt to initiate a tax inquiry into the AIADMK leader’s election affidavit disclosures through the High Court.

–IANS

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