CHENNAI: Raising allegations of suppression of assets, a petition has been moved in the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the returning officer for Chepauk-Triplicane Assembly constituency, the director general of Income Tax (Investigations) and the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs to inquire into the discrepancies in the assets as shown in the affidavits accompanying the nomination papers of Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in 2021 and the one submitted for the upcoming Assembly election.
In his petition, R Kumaravel of Triplicane, said Udhayanidhi showed an investment of Rs 7.36 crore in Red Giant Movies Private Limited in the 2021 candidate affidavit. The same, however, is not shown in the 2026 affidavit which only states that his spouse has investments to the tune of Rs 2.63 crore in the film production company.
“The transition is neither explained nor supported by any disclosure of transfer, sale, divestment or restructuring,” the petitioner said, adding that such disappearance and partial reappearance is a classic case of “suppression of assets”. It also raises serious questions regarding beneficial ownership, routing of funds and concealment of material particulars, he added.
Further, the petitioner said that he noted a reduction of Rs 1 crore in the loan advanced by Udhayanidhi to Snow Housing Private Limited when comparing the figures shown in the 2021 and 2026 affidavits. The loan advanced to the company was Rs 11.06 crore as per the 2021 affidavit but it stands at Rs 10 crore in the 2026 affidavit.
If such discrepancies are not subjected to at least a preliminary scrutiny before the date of election, the electorate would be compelled to exercise their franchise based on incomplete, misleading or distorted information, thereby causing irreparable injury to the democratic process which cannot be remedied, he added.
He hence urged the court to issue directions to the director general of Income Tax (Investigations) and the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs to hold a detailed, independent and time-bound investigation into the financial disclosures, sources of income, transactions and statutory filings of Udhayanidhi, including his dealings with Red Giant Movies Private Limited, Snow Housing Private Limited and Raj Promoters Private Limited. The correctness of disclosures made in the election affidavits must be verified, the petitioner said.
He also sought an interim report on the status of Udhayanidhi’s assets to be filed in the court before the date of polling i.e. April 23.
The petition is coming up for hearing on Wednesday before the first bench headed by Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari.