What is the Puli tax case? Inside the 2015 income tax raids and 2026 FIR plea against Vijay

Actor-turned-politician Vijay’s road to the Chief Minister’s office is gaining momentum by every minute passing. Amid this political journey, the actor has landed in fresh legal trouble linked to his 2015 film Puli. A writ petition has been filed in the Madras High Court seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the actor over alleged income tax irregularities.

The plea is linked to Income Tax proceedings that began after the release of Puli. The petition alleges suppression of income and accuses the actor of not fully declaring his earnings and much more. The plea has also sought for registration of an FIR against Vijay and a probe by competent authorities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, as per Live Law.

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The recent update in the case that has been time and again knocking on the doors of Vijay's office is that the Madras High Court has directed its registry to number and list a plea seeking a probe into the allegation levelled against the actor. The plea has also sought the registration of an FIR against Vijay and a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

However, the bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan has not numbered the registry over doubts on its maintainability. The judges have noted that deciding the issue of maintainability is a judicial function, and the registry could not raise such objections.

The petition was submitted last month seeking an FIR. However, now, the High Court Registry has officially numbered it.

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“In view of the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court, the directions and circular already issued, we hereby direct the Registry not to refuse to number any case raising the issue of maintainability. If the cases filed are otherwise in order but the Registry still has a doubt regarding maintainability, the case shall be numbered with an endorsement “numbered subject to maintainability” and shall be listed before the concerned Hon'ble Roster Judge, separately under the caption “for maintainability”, along with the objections raised and compliance reported. It is for the Court to decide on maintainability of the case and if found maintainable, then to consider the case on merits,” the court said, as per Live Law.

What was the alleged income tax irregularities case?

The petition stems from income tax proceedings initiated in 2015 following the release of the Tamil film Puli, concerning payments received by the actor and the taxes paid on them. On September 30, 2015, the Income Tax Department conducted a raid at the actor’s residence and allegedly found material indicating the presence of unaccounted cash.

The petitioner also claims that Puli producers PT Selvakumar and Shibu of SKT Studios paid Vijay Rs 16 crore by cheque and an additional Rs 4.93 crore in cash. While tax was deducted at source from the cheque amount, no TDS was deducted on the cash payment. During the investigation, Vijay reportedly admitted to receiving about Rs 5 crore in cash as part of his fee for Puli and agreed to pay the applicable tax on that amount.

Then, in the financial year of 2015-16, he disclosed an additional income of Rs 15 crore. This disclosure allegedly included the cash amount that had come under the scanner during the tax investigation. Later, in July 2016, Vijay filed his Income Tax returns for the assessment year 2016–17, declaring a total income of Rs 35.42 crore, which reportedly included the additional Rs 15 crore.

According to The Hindu, the petition was filed by Chennai man named M. Rajkumar in March 2026.