CHENNAI: The Madras High Court dismissed the case against former minister KC Veeramani, imposing a cost of Rs 1 lakh.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, AIADMK leader Veeramani contested from Jolarpet but was defeated.

B Ramamoorthy of Vellore lodged a complaint with the Election Commission alleging that Veeramani had concealed asset details and furnished false information in his affidavit.

Based on this, the commission wrote to the Income Tax Department seeking a report after examining Veeramani’s income.

After scrutinising the assets declared in the nomination affidavit and Veeramani’s tax returns, the department submitted an interim report stating that there was a discrepancy of about Rs 14 crore.

Based on this, the Election Officer filed a case against Veeramani before the Tirupattur court for allegedly furnishing false information in his nomination papers. The case is currently pending trial.

Meanwhile, alleging that the Income Tax Department had not conducted a comprehensive investigation, Ramamoorthy filed a peti- tion seeking a direction to conduct a full inquiry and submit a final report.

But a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan observed that the commission had already initiated prosecution for furnishing false information in the affidavit, and that it was for the Income Tax Department to decide whether a detailed investigation was required.

The bench also questioned how the petitioner was prejudiced in the matter. Stating that courts cannot be allowed to be used for political purposes during election time, the bench dismissed the petition with a cost of Rs 1 lakh