Legal action against rich man spreading false information: Income Tax Department’s complaint

Tamil Nadu: The Income Tax Department has filed a complaint with the Chief Election Commission and the Chennai City Police, seeking legal action against Tamil Nadu Congress leader Selvaperundhaga for spreading misinformation against the Income Tax Department.

Selvaperundhaga recently accused the Income Tax Department of “illegally detaining” him under the pretext of conducting a search at his Sriperumbudur home during Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Tamil Nadu. He also gave a media interview regarding this matter. Selvaperundhaga made this allegation just two days before the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, making it a major issue in the opposition parties’ election campaign. The Income Tax Department has completely rejected Selvaperundhaga’s claim. In this regard, the department’s Commissioner (Media and Technology Policy Division), V. Rajitha, issued a press release on Tuesday, which reads:

We have come to our attention a post made by Selvaperundhagai, President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and candidate from the Sriperumbudur constituency, on his X page on April 20. In it, he alleged that Income Tax Department officials had illegally detained him in the constituency under the guise of “testing” and prevented him from carrying out his political work and participating in election-related activities. He also stated the same thing in a media interaction that same day. Furthermore, some media outlets reported that the Income Tax Department had raided Selvaperundhagai’s home in the Kilpauk area of ​​Chennai.

The Income Tax Department immediately investigated these reports and verified their veracity. It has been determined that Selvaperundhagai’s allegations are completely baseless and false. It is clarified that the Income Tax Department did not conduct any inspection, investigation, or action against K. Selvaperunthakai on 20.04.2026 or any other date in the recent past. Furthermore, no action was taken to restrict his movement. It is also confirmed that the Income Tax Department has not conducted any raids at any location, including his residence in Kilpauk, Chennai, as reported in media reports.

It is important to note that the limited raids conducted by the Income Tax Department in certain areas of the Sriperumbudur constituency were based on specific intelligence input regarding the movement of unaccounted money. These routine raids were conducted in coordination with relevant officials and were in no way related to the money matter. During these raids, no evidence or documents were seized for further action. Furthermore, these raids did not affect any individual in any way.

A complaint has been filed with the Election Commission of India regarding Selvaperunthakai’s false and misleading statements. The press release states that a complaint has also been filed with the Chennai Police Commissioner, seeking appropriate legal action against the individual for spreading false information and making defamatory allegations against a government department.