Madras High Court calls for report on complaint against Udhayanidhi Stalin’s election affidavit

On October 13, 2026, the Madras High Court directed its Registry to seek a report from a George Town metropolitan magistrate's court in Chennai concerning a complaint lodged against the Leader of the Opposition, Udhayanidhi Stalin, for allegedly submitting a false election affidavit alongside his nomination form for the recent Assembly elections.

Justice V. Lakshminarayanan requested the magistrate court to ascertain the time required to number the petition submitted by P. Milany of Theni district, who contested the Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni constituency where Stalin secured re-election for the second straight term. Milany's counsel informed the court that he had filed a complaint under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, alleging the LoP provided false information in the election affidavit attached to his nomination form.

However, the magistrate court had not yet taken up the petition filed on September 8. In his plea, Milany argued that a High Court Division Bench had directed the Chennai district election officer in June to provide him with certified copies of both accepted and rejected nomination papers and affidavits of Udhayanidhi. Upon receiving those copies, Milany filed election petitions in the High Court challenging the LoP's victory and before a metropolitan magistrate under Section 125 of the Act, which prescribes up to six months' imprisonment or a fine if the charge is proven.

The petitioner mentioned that the third metropolitan magistrate's court, designated as a special court for handling MP/MLA cases, had initially sought clarification from him regarding the petition's admissibility, but subsequently, there was no progress, and the petition remained unfiled for over a month.