KN Nehru money-for-work scam case: Madras High Court clears DVAC probe packages
The Madras High Court on Monday (Oct 26, 2026) allowed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to probe the multi-crore labor money scam case registered against former DMK minister KN Nehru, rejecting the review petition filed by him.
First Division Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan dismissed the plea filed by him and asked the court to review/recall his February 20 direction to the DVAC to register a first information report (FIR) regarding the scam and then initiate an investigation.
The judges refused to make any changes to the direction issued by a bench comprising former Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava (since retired) and Justice Murugan earlier this year while disposing of a plea filed by AIADMK Rajya Sabha member IS Inbadurai.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dharmadhikari agreed with Advocate General Vijay Narayan that the former minister could not complain of denial of principles of natural justice as he did not take any action between February 4, 2026, when he received the judicial notice, and February 20, 2026, when the direction was issued.
“If the review applicant, once served with the notice, wished to bring anything to the notice of this court, there was nothing to prevent him from moving the application within that 16-day period. No such attempt was made. This essentially strengthens the contention of the learned Advocate General that the review applicant sat and watched the proceedings before filing the complaint,” the Bench wrote.
The court further allowed the state government to withdraw its review petition filed under the DMK regime. Although Mr. Nehru’s counsel objected to such a withdrawal on the grounds that the government could not change its stand just because a new political party took over the government in the state after the 2026 general elections, the judges rejected the plea.
Noting the AG’s submission that the DVAC had registered the FIR on June 5, 2026, the judges said: “Withdrawal of the state’s review application on the basis that a case has already been registered in accordance with the directions of this court…does not amount to subversion of the rule of law. On the contrary, continuing to resist the registration after the government itself has decided to disregard the plea of law would undermine that much more.”
Since the FIR was registered while the review petitions were pending, the judges also concluded a contempt of court petition filed by Mr. Inbadurai through his counsel S. Tamilselvan against the DVAC officials for not registering the FIR immediately after the February 20, 2026 direction.
Case background
It was the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which on 27 October 2025 shared a 232-page file with the then Tamil Nadu Director General of Police/Chief of Police (DGP/HoPF) leveling allegations of cash-for-jobs in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department under the then Minister Mr Nehru.
The ED had interjected the incriminating materials in April 2025 while conducting search and seizure in connection with a bank fraud case at premises associated with Mr. Nehru’s brother N. Ravichandran. She shared the information with the DGP in accordance with Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
The materials allegedly revealed several crores of rupees changing hands through hawala transactions to fill 2,538 posts of Assistant Engineers, Junior Engineers and Town Planning Officers in the MAWS department. They revealed accepting a bribe of ₹25-35 million per person and sharing call letters with candidates even before those people were officially selected and appointed.
A bench headed by former Chief Justice Shrivastava said that the material shared by the ED was sufficient for the DVAC to register an FIR, that the dossier contained solid material to reach a prima facie conclusion of multi-crore corruption in the offering and securing of government jobs.
The bench further criticized the DVAC for conducting only a preliminary inquiry even after receiving the ED dossier, saying it “raises serious doubts and apprehensions”. It impressed on the need to take action against 2,538 government employees as well, if their recruitment process was eventually found to have been rigged.
“In cases involving such complications and sensitive issues, the state should have acted conscientiously and should have registered the case and conducted a detailed investigation without any delay. Any delay in registering and investigating the case may give scope for destruction of material evidence which would prejudice the case,” former Chief Justice Shrivastava wrote on February 20.
Afterwards, the judges also said that while they were satisfied that the inquiry could be entrusted to an independent and specialized agency, they allowed the DVAC to conduct the inquiry as the state government had referred the matter to it. They also ordered an expedited investigation into the case.
Published – 26 Oct 2026 12:23 IST