High Court bench expunges adverse remarks against actor Vijay

The Madras High Court on Tuesday expunged certain adverse remarks made by a single judge against actor Vijay in a case relating to his seeking exemption from paying entry tax to the Tamil Nadu government for his luxurious Rolls Royce Ghost Motor Car imported from Britain in 2012.

Allowing the writ petition filed by Vijay against the July 8, 2021 order of Justice S M Subramaniam, a division bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and Mohammed Shaffiq said the remarks made by the single judge against the actor in six paragraphs of the judgement are being expunged.

“…the Writ Appeal is allowed and the observations made by the learned Single Judge against the appellant in paragraphs 3, 4, 7, 8, 11 and 12 of the impugned order stand expunged. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed,” the bench said in its order.

The order added that it is difficult to suggest that the petitioner had acted with malafide and with “deliberate intention and thus, the observation made by the learned single Judge, apart from being unwarranted, is irrelevant to decide the issue.”

“The above sequence of litigation will clearly demonstrate that the appellant cannot be imputed with motive whatsoever and therefore, the disparaging remarks are clearly unwarranted,” the judges added.

Justice S M Subramaniam in July came down heavily on the actor, who is one of the highest-paid in the Tamil film industry, for seeking the relief. The actor, who imported the vehicle in 2012, paid import duty to the Customs Department as levied under the Customs Act, but sought exemption from paying the entry tax.

The actor had bought the luxurious car in 2012 costing about Rs 8 crore and the Transport Department had sought Rs 1.5 crore as entry tax. But the actor refused to pay the amount and approached the court.

“These actors are portraying themselves as champion to bring social justice in the society. Their pictures are against corrupt activities in society. But, they are evading tax and acting in a manner, which is not in consonance with the provisions of the statutes,” the judge had said in his order.