CHENNAI: Not just his flock of MLAs and vote bank, actor-politician Vijayakanth has to now work out a strategy to safeguard his popular moniker ‘Captain’.

“He is an actor. To my knowledge he never served in the Indian Army, but he has been using the term ‘Captain’ in a fraudulent manner. It is illegal and an insult to the honour and respect of the Indian Army,” said ex-serviceman K Dhandapani, who moved the Madras high court on Tuesday seeking criminal action against the actor.

Justice C T Selvam, before whom the petition came up for hearing on Tuesday, directed the Saligramam police to investigate the complaint and register an FIR if it reveals commission of any cognizable offence by the actor. The high court order is a usual directive, especially after the November 2013 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Lalita Kumari case. As per the apex court ruling, police have to register an FIR in case information reveals commission of a cognizable offence. Officers delaying or refusing to register an FIR will face action.

Vijayakanth got the nickname ‘Captain’ after he acted in a movie titled ‘Captain Prabhakaran’ in 1991. In his petition, Dhandapani, who had worked as sanitary inspector in the Army’s medical wing for more than 22 years, said the term ‘captain’ referred to a high post in the Army and a person who had never served the force was not entitled to use it.

He said he had lodged a complaint with the Saligramam police on February 14, 2013 and also forwarded copies to higher officials in city police administration, requesting them to register an FIR and investigate the matter in accordance with law. Since there was no response from police, he was constrained to file the petition, he said.

Justice Selvam adjourned the matter to March 11 for further hearing.