₹7.36 Crore Investment Not Disclosed In Udayanidhi Stalin's 2026 Election Affidavit: Income Tax Dept Tells Madras High Court

The Income Tax Department, on Monday (20th April), sought additional time for filing a detailed report explaining any alleged discrepancies in the financial statements filed by Deputy Chief Minister Udayanidhi Stalin, in his election affidavit for the 2026 TN Assembly Elections.

Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan sought time while appearing before the bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan. The bench had previously directed the department to file a report in a plea alleging that Udayanidhi had not disclosed the assets.

“It is submitted that the Income Tax Department has always endeavoured to adhere to the strict guidelines bestowed on us. It is further submitted that the petitioner's claims in the writ petition need examination of relevant financial records which are not readily available now.

In view of above submission, the Honourable High Court may please grant reasonable time to the Income Tax Department to verify the issues for which relevant financials are not readily available. The Income Tax Department requires further time for a detailed enquiry and verification”, the department said.

The report was filed in a petition filed by R Kumaravel, a resident of Chennai, seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India and the returning Officer to verify the financial disclosures, sources of income, transactions and statutory filings made by Udayanidhi. An interim direction was also sought to direct the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the discrepancies, suppression, and misstatements in the financial disclosures made.

In its report, the department submitted that Udayanidhi had declared movable assets of Rs 21,13,09,650 and immovable assets of Rs 6,54,39,552 in the election affidavit for 2021 Assembly Elections. It has been submitted that for the 2026 assembly elections, he has declared movable assets of Rs 12,92,07,483 and immovable assets of Rs 7,72,24,933.

The department informed the bench that Udayanidhi had not disclosed an investment of Rs 7,36,51,294 from his company, Red Giant Movies, in his 2026 election affidavit, which he had made in 2021. However, in the 2026 affidavit, he has declared an investment of Rs 2,63,58,142 in the company, in the name of his wife, Kiruthiga Udayanidhi.

The department also informed the court that Kiruthiga Udayanidhi had not filed the Income Tax returns for the year 2025-26 and in the absence of said return and accompanying financial disclosure, a direct comparison or correlation of the financial particulars could not be undertaken at this stage without verification and reconciliation of records.

Thus, citing the unavailability of certain financial records, the department had sought for additional time. The court allowed the request and granted 4 weeks time to the department to file a detailed report and adjourned the case to January.

Case Title: R Kumaravel v Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) and others

Case No: WP 14645 of 2026