Madras High Court upholds land allotment to actor Vijay by Tamil Nadu Housing Board

The dispute dates back to 2009, when Chennai resident R. Karthikeyan approached the High Court questioning the allotment of 11,854 sq. ft. of land in Padi village, Ambattur taluk, to Vijay. Karthikeyan claimed that the land originally belonged to his late father, Rathinapandian, whose property had been acquired by the State government in 1969 for the Korattur Neighbourhood Development Scheme.

The petitioner argued that a portion of the acquired land had remained unused and should have been returned to the original landowners rather than allotted to the actor.

However, the State government and the Housing Board maintained that the allotment was made as an alternative to land previously acquired from Vijay. The actor had purchased eight grounds of land in the Ashok Nagar–Kodambakkam area through a public auction in 2001 to construct a multiplex. Subsequently, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority indicated that the property could be affected by the proposed Inner Circular Corridor Road alignment, preventing the proposed development.

Following legal proceedings and a government undertaking to provide an alternative site, the Housing Board allotted the Padi property to Vijay.

The court found that the allotment was made in lieu of the actor's inability to use the land purchased earlier and that there was no illegality or irregularity in the decision. It consequently dismissed Karthikeyan's challenge.

The land dispute has resurfaced in the news after an election petitioner reportedly claimed before the Madras High Court that Vijay had sold a commercial building constructed on the property, with a built-up area of 23,460 sq. ft., for ₹35 crore on February 12, 2026.

The case highlights the legal background to the land allotment and the circumstances under which the Tamil Nadu government provided Vijay with an alternative property.