CHENNAI: The Madras High Court was informed that police have begun a preliminary inquiry into a complaint by Dhana Vimal of AIADMK, alleging that former minister C Vijayabaskar failed to return Rs 4 crore out of Rs 4.5 crore allegedly given for election expenses.

In his petition, Dhana Vimal alleged that Vijayabaskar, then AIADMK Pudukkottai district secretary, contacted him on November 19, 2025, and asked him to arrange Rs 5 crore to show his financial capacity for election expenses.

Vijayabaskar promised to return the money after his candidature was announced.

He directed Dhana to hand over the money (Rs 4.5 crore) to contractor Sothuppalai Murugesan, which he did on March 11, 2026. After his candidature was announced, Vijayabaskar returned Rs 50 lakh, but the remaining Rs 4 crore was not returned, Dhana claimed.

Dhana said he lodged a complaint with the Pudukkottai SP on July 30, but no FIR has been registered so far.

The case was heard by Justice V Lakshminarayanan. The police said a preliminary inquiry had begun and the petitioner was summoned for inquiry on September 10.

The judge adjourned the case to September 15 and directed the police to submit a progress report.