Madras High Court has directed Tamil Nadu’s anti-corruption agency DVAC to register a criminal case against state Municipal Administration and Water Supply Minister KN Nehru. This order has been given on the basis of information sent by ED, in which there are allegations of running a big racket of bribery in transfer-posting and commission in tender.
The matter is related to recruitment on 2538 posts in Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department. It is alleged that bribes ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh were taken for appointment to these posts. ED had raided the house of the minister’s brother during the investigation of a bank fraud case. At the same time, the agency found many such documents, digital records, call letters and alleged fixed lists, which indicated large-scale irregularities in recruitment.
ED had sent complete information to Tamil Nadu Police
ED had sent this complete information to Tamil Nadu Police on 27 October 2025 under Section 66(2) of PMLA. The document is said to be around 232 pages long. Two petitions were filed in this matter. One was a PIL and the other was from a Rajya Sabha MP in which a demand was made to register an FIR.
The Division Bench of the High Court (headed by the Chief Justice) said in its detailed order that if any information indicates a cognizable offence, then it is mandatory to register an FIR. The police cannot avoid it by saying that a long preliminary investigation will be conducted first. According to the Lalita Kumari decision of the Supreme Court, FIR should be registered immediately in such cases. The court made it clear that preliminary investigation is not a necessary condition in corruption cases. Especially when concrete documents have been sent by an investigating agency.
The court has directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption of Tamil Nadu to register a criminal case on the basis of the ED report and conduct an impartial investigation. The court also said that the allegations of corruption are serious and cannot be limited to only departmental investigation.
