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Madras HC closes Rs.4 crore cheating case against Ex-AIADMk Minister , says no prima facie evidence citing police report

Chennai, Oct 1 (UNI) The Madras High Court on Thursday closed a petition seeking registration of a case against former AIADMK Minister C Vijayabaskar, now with the ruling TVK, over an alleged Rs.4-crore cheating fraud, after the police submitted there was no prima facie basis for the complaint.
The petition was filed by Dhana Vimal of Alangudi, who had sought an AIADMK ticket to contest the 2026 Assembly election. He alleged that Vijayabaskar had asked him to arrange Rs.5 crore to demonstrate his financial capacity to meet election expenses and assured him that the money would be returned after the candidate list was announced.
According to the petitioner, he mobilised Rs.4.5 crore and handed it over to contractor Sothupalai Murugesan at his office in Pudukkottai on March 11, 2026. After his candidature was announced, he claimed that only Rs.50 lakh was returned and the remaining Rs.4 crore was not repaid.
He subsequently approached the police and the High Court seeking action against the ex-AIADMK Minister.
When the matter came up again before Justice V Lakshminarayanan, the police submitted that the Pudukkottai DSP had conducted an inquiry into the complaint and found no prima facie basis for the allegations against Vijayabaskar.
Accepting the police report, the judge closed the petition seeking a direction to order a probe. The allegations made in the petition have therefore not resulted in registration of a criminal case against Vijayabaskar in this matter.
Opposition AIADMK's unsuccesful Alangudi candidate Dhana Vimal, who had lost the recent Assembly polls, has moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the police to act on his complaint and register a case against Vijayabaskar and others for cheating him to the tune of Rs four crore by promising to secure a ticket to contest the recent Assembly elections.
In his petition, Dhana Vimal, a resident of Alangudi in Pudukkottai district, said he had applied for an AIADMK ticket to contest from the Alangudi constituency. In his plea, he said Vijayabaskar, who was then the party's Pudukkottai district secretary, contacted him over the phone and allegedly asked him to provide Rs.5 crore to meet te election expenses with an assurance that it would be returned after the party announced its list of candidates.
Based on the assurance, Dhana Vimal said he mobilised Rs.4.50 crore and handed over the money to a contractor named Sothuppalai Murugesan, on the directions of Vijayabaskar. After his name figured among the list of candidates, he asked the former Minister to return the money to meet his election expenses.
However, Vijayabaskar, who too contested from his stronghold of Viralimalai and won the polls, subsequently resigned and joined the ruling TVK headed by Chief Minister Vijay, had returned only Rs.50 lakh, while the remaining amount was allegedly withheld by him despite repeated demands.
The petitioner further alleged that when he recently sought repayment of the balance amount, Vijayabaskar allegedly threatened him. Dhana Vimal also said that he had lodged a complaint to the Pudukkottai District Superintendent of Police, but no action was taken on it.
Hence he knocked the doors of the High Court seeking a direction to the police to register an FIR based on his complaint and conduct an investigation into the allegations, which was treated as closed following the police report.
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