Library book ‘scam’: ₹22 lakh belonging to publisher frozen
The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday informed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court that a structured FIR would be registered in connection with suspected irregularities in the purchase of books for public libraries and the same would be arraigned. Besides, three bank accounts of controversial publisher Agal Vilakku have been frozen, according to a court order on Tuesday. The bank accounts contained an amount of ₹22 million.
Noting the undertaking of the director of public libraries and the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) that all relevant details would be brought before the court in case of suspected “fraud”, the court ordered the production of all relevant records relating to the public procurement.
After hearing a contempt petition filed in this regard, a division judge GR Swaminathan and MD Sumathi said, “One member of the expert committee, on learning that we are seized of the matter, approached us and informed us that the Prime Minister’s Mann Ki Baat, which was translated into Tamil as ‘Manathin Nad Kural’, was recommended as a public book by Tamils and did not make it from the Tamil Libraries.”
“We wanted to confirm the truth of this information. When we confronted the director of public libraries, there was only silence,” the court noted.
Public Prosecutor R. John Sathyan told the court that the DVAC had received a communication dated November 6 from the Education Department to conduct a detailed inquiry against unknown government officials regarding allegations regarding books recommended and purchased by 137 members of the Book Recommendation Committee set up to purchase books for all libraries including Periyar Arivulagama, Coiyar Arivulagam, Coiyar.
On 7 November DVAC opened a detailed investigation and on 9 November the documents were collected. On November 10, some key witnesses were also heard, such as prof. Perumal Murugan and Prof. Parveen Sultana, was submitted.
The court said that Periyar Arivulagam is not the only place for such suspicious books. The Tenkasi District Library was the next destination.
The court took into consideration that the GO issued in 2025 by the Department of School Education created four committees, namely the Book Recommendation Committee; book selection committee; Book Purchase Negotiation Committee; and the High Level Committee.
Director of Public Libraries RV Shajeevana told the court that Agal Vilakku was paid a sum of ₹17 crore for purchasing 1,700 titles from them. Agal Vilakku offered 2,335 titles and 1,700 were selected.
The court also took into consideration the contention of Badrinarayanan Seshadri of ‘Kizhakku Pathippagam’ that the amount was obscenely high for a single publisher. He underlined this by comparing his own ‘Kizhakku Pathippagam’ which published hundreds of books but got an order for ₹23,000.
“Agal Vilakku, which is a shadowy entity, on the other hand was paid ₹17 crore. When not a single book of Agal Vilakku was seen in the market, we do not understand how nobody raised suspicions about the largesse given to Agal Vilakku,” the court said.
According to Badrinarayanan, the Recommendation Committee, which consisted of persons of repute, would not be taken into confidence. Agal Vilakku had to be inserted secretly as the entire process was done on a digital level. According to him, those suppliers who were willing to bribe the concerned officials settled the bill without delay, the court noted.
The court said it would be in order for the department to publish a consolidated and comprehensive list of books acquired for public libraries over the past two decades. Publications must also be cataloged. The number of books purchased and amounts paid to the respective suppliers must also be documented. The report of the director of public libraries must include the date of presentation of the bill and the date of their billing.
The affidavit to be filed by the Director of Public Libraries must contain details of the number of suspect books sent to various public libraries in Tamil Nadu. There can be no problem with the placement of this information as all public libraries have already prepared a list of such books and also removed them. According to the court, the total amounts paid for each of these suspect publications will also be made available.
We acknowledge the fact that there are relatively few known publications. The number of books and titles obtained from these publications should also be mentioned, the court said.
“Agal Vilakku means earthen lamp. It means light. The unanimous public opinion is that he should have been condemned to eternal darkness. We want the department and DVAC to rise to the occasion. Not a single official associated with this fraud should go unpunished. All must be brought to book (pun intended). This does not mean that we have not pre-judged the individual, we have not condemned anything without a specific opportunity. he is guilty of deliberate violation of court order,” the court said.
The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by advocate V. Ramasubbu of Tirunelveli district. Petitioner complained of non-compliance with an order passed in 2024. Further hearing on the contempt petition was adjourned to November 16.
Published – 11 Nov 2026 22:00 IST