Bengaluru, Oct. 8 -- The Madras High Court on Wednesday questioned whether an "omission of assets worth Rs.30 crore" from Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay's election affidavit could amount to a "corrupt practice when he had declared assets worth around Rs.600 crore." Justice V Lakshminarayanan asked the question while hearing Vijay's application seeking the dismissal of an election petition challenging his victory from the Perambur assembly constituency. The judge asked whether an error by a "chartered accountant" who prepared the asset statement could "justify setting aside an election." "When you become a judge, you are supposed to declare your assets. Do you think I sat and prepared the list? I relied on my chartered accountant. Similarly, do you think Vijay sat and wrote down all his assets? He would have definitely relied on a CA. The CA might have missed some assets. For that, can the election be set aside?" the court said. "He had declared Rs.600 crore in assets. Can missing out Rs.30 crore worth of assets amount to corrupt practice?" it said. The court also questioned whether the alleged omissions could have influenced voters, particularly when Vijay won Perambur by a margin of more than 50,000 votes. "If I decided to vote for Vijay, it wouldn't matter to me if he owns what property. Do you think it would make a difference to a voter in Perambur if Vijay had failed to disclose Rs.30 crore worth of assets," justice Lakshminarayanan said to the petitioner's counsel. The court made the observations while hearing an election petition filed by one S Dinesh, a voter from Perambur, challenging Vijay's victory on the ground that his 2026 election affidavit contained several discrepancies in the disclosure of immovable properties. Dinesh has sought a declaration that Vijay's election stands void on account of what he describes as "wilful and deliberate" suppression, misrepresentation and false declarations....