Madras High Court Justice V. Lakshminarayanan remarked on October 7 and 8, 2026 that the texture of the election petition against Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has changed entirely. The petition, filed by voter S. Dinesh, challenges Vijay’s win from the Perambur constituency.
Its central allegation is that Vijay failed to fully disclose his assets in his poll affidavit, with roughly Rs 30 crore reportedly left out of about Rs 600 crore. Vijay has applied to have the petition rejected at the threshold, arguing there is no cause of action, that disclosure was almost entirely complete and that any omission was a chartered accountant’s error. After putting a string of questions to the petitioner’s counsel, the judge turned to Vijay’s senior counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan. He asked how the Chief Minister would overcome Supreme Court rulings on the subject, including a judgment of Justice Ramasubramanian that the petitioner had circulated. Counsel replied that there was a square answer to the point, and the judge asked him to give it in his reply on October 8.
The judge had earlier wondered aloud whether leaving out about Rs 30 crore could amount to a corrupt practice that affects a voter. Three other election petitions against Vijay and a minister are reportedly linked to this matter. The case is politically sensitive for the TVK government, since an adverse finding could threaten the Chief Minister’s election.