CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court on Friday that the DVAC has registered an FIR in the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department during former Minister KN Nehru’s tenure.
Senior Counsel P.H. Arvindh Pandian, appearing for former Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru, made a mention before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan after the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) registered an FIR against Nehru.
Further he submitted that, despite an undertaking given by then Advocate General PS Raman that the issue would not be precipitated until the final hearing of the cases on June 23, the FIR had now been registered.
Tamil Nadu Advocate General Vijay Narayan informed the Court to FIR was registered based on a legal opinion rendered by him after examining the materials available in the case.
AG further submitted that there was nothing on record to show that his predecessor had given any oral undertaking to the court that no coercive action would be taken by the DVAC until the next hearing on June 23, 2026.
He contended that even if such an undertaking had been made, it would have been done only on the instructions of the then government, which, according to him, intended to protect its Minister.
Recording the submissions, the judges observed that they would pass appropriate orders.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier sent a letter seeking registration of a case, alleging that bribes amounting to several crores were collected in connection with 2,538 appointments, including posts such as Assistant Engineer, Junior Engineer, and Sanitary Inspector, in the MAWS Department.
Based on this, a petition was filed before the Madras High Court by AIADMK MP IS Inbadurai and K. Athinarayanan, President of the Maruthu Senai Society, Madurai, seeking directions to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) to register a case.
After hearing the parties, the Chief Justice-led Bench, on February 20, 2026, directed that an FIR be registered forthwith. Subsequently, Inbadurai filed a contempt petition, contending that despite the court’s directions, no FIR had been registered. During the proceedings, then Advocate General P.S. Raman informed the court that the DVAC was contemplating filing a review petition against the order directing registration of the FIR.