Madras HC dismisses dismisses S.P. Velumani’s petition against I-T assessment order on 2016 Assembly poll expenses

The Madras High Court connected Tuesday (March 24, 2026) dismissed a writ petition filed by erstwhile AIADMK Minister S.P. Velumani successful 2023 challenging an appraisal bid passed against him by the Income Tax (I-T) section successful 2022 aft uncovering that helium had fixed ₹7 crore successful currency to SRS Mining for organisation to assorted constituencies during the 2016 Legislative Assembly elections held successful Tamil Nadu.

Justice C. Saravanan dismissed the plea, with liberty to similar a statutory appeal, aft I-T section elder lasting counsel A.P. Srinivas contended that the assessee ought not to person filed the writ petition challenging the bid passed for the appraisal twelvemonth 2017-18 without availing the statutory remedy of approaching the archetypal appellate authorization nether the Income Tax Act of 1961.

Explaining the inheritance of the case, the lasting counsel told the tribunal that Mr. Velumani, during his stint arsenic Minister for Local Administration successful the AIADMK government, had filed I-T returns connected January 23, 2018 disclosing a full taxable income of conscionable ₹4.92 lakh which included his wage of ₹4.44 lakh and ₹48,000 being income from different sources. The returns had been filed for the appraisal twelvemonth 2017-18.

However, a hunt and seizure cognition conducted by the I-T sleuths successful the premises related to businessman J. Sekar Reddy’s SRS Mining connected December 8, 2016 had led to find of incriminating materials which revealed that Mr. Velumani had fixed ₹7 crore successful currency to the backstage institution for being distributed successful constituencies successful which AIADMK and its confederation partners had contested elections that year.

Further, the I-T sleuths recorded a sworn connection of K. Srinivasalu, who was past the manager of JSR Infra Developers Private Limited, a connected company, that the seized diary notings were so related to the currency received by SRS Mining from Mr. Velumani for being distributed to idiosyncratic contestants and besides for the expenditure successful assorted constituencies successful which elections were held.

Responding to a announcement issued by the I-T section seeking mentation arsenic to wherefore the ₹7 crore should not beryllium added to his income for the intent of recovering taxation on with penalty, Mr. Velumani had feigned ignorance astir immoderate specified wealth having been fixed by him to the backstage institution and asserted that his income for the twelvemonth 2017-18 was lone ₹4.92 lakh arsenic it had been declared successful his I-T returns.

However, aft taking into information the seized materials and the corroborative evidence, the assessing serviceman had treated the ₹7 crore arsenic unexplained expenditure and determined the full taxable income of Mr. Velumani arsenic ₹7.04 crore for the appraisal twelvemonth 2017-18. He besides decided to initiate punishment proceedings and hence, the erstwhile Minister had rushed to the tribunal with the contiguous writ petition successful 2023.