Concept of black money, IT raid, confiscated Money showing Indian currency notes with jewelry. | Photo Credit: lakshmiprasad S

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has denied allegations made by K Selvaperunthagai, Congress MLA from Sriperumbudur and President of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, that he was subjected to a search by the Income Tax Department on April 20.

The department further said that the “false and misleading” statements made by the MLA have been reported to the Election Commission of India.

A complaint has also been filed with the city police commissioner seeking legal action against him for allegedly spreading misinformation and making defamatory claims against a government department.

In an official statement, CBDT spokesperson said Selvaperunthagai had claimed in a social media post that Income Tax officials, under the pretext of conducting a “search,” unlawfully confined him within his constituency and prevented him from carrying out political and election-related activities. He reportedly reiterated these claims during media interactions, while some sections of the press also reported that his residence in Kilpauk, Chennai, had been searched.

The CBDT said these allegations and reports were examined and found to be “entirely baseless and factually incorrect.” It clarified that no search, survey, or enforcement action had been conducted against K. Selvaperunthagai on April 20 or at any time in the recent past, the department said.

Limited verification exercises were indeed carried out in parts of Sriperumbudur based on specific intelligence inputs about suspected movement of unaccounted cash. However, these were described as routine checks conducted in coordination with relevant authorities and were not linked in any way to Selvaperunthagai. The exercise, however, did not yield any findings warranting further action, the statement said.

Published on April 21, 2026