Cash-for-jobs complaint in K.N. Nehru’s Municipal Administration Dept.: Madras HC orders registration of case

The Madras High Court on Friday (February 20, 2026) directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a case forthwith based on materials shared by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on October 27, 2025, levelling a cash-for-jobs allegation in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department led by Minister K.N. Nehru.

The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shirvastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan said the voluminous materials shared by the ED was sufficient to register a case. The orders were passed on a writ petition filed by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Rajya Sabha member I.S. Inbadurai, who had insisted on the registration of a First Information Report (FIR).

Opposing the two writ petitions, Advocate General P.S. Raman representing the State government and senior counsel N.R. Elango, representing the DVAC, had told the court, during the course of hearing, that the ED’s October 27 communication addressed to the Director-General of Police was forwarded to the Home Secretary immediately and the latter, in turn, had forwarded it to the DVAC on November 1, 2025.

Thereafter, on November 4, 2025, the DVAC requested the government to accord sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) of 1988 before commencing a ‘detailed inquiry’, and the government promptly accorded the sanction, thereby enabling the DVAC to start the ‘detailed inquiry,’ which was more elaborate than a preliminary inquiry as per the DVAC manual, from December 15, 2025, the A-G said.

The A-G stated that the DVAC manual prescribes a time limit of 180 days for completing the “detailed inquiry,” during which the agency may conduct searches, summon those involved in the complaint, record their statements, and then recommend to the government either the registration of an FIR or the dropping of the proceedings based on the findings of the inquiry.

Mr. Elango, too, had assured the Division Bench that the DVAC would conduct a proper and full-fledged inquiry into the cash-for-jobs complaint. He said the DVAC would even write to the ED and seek any other materials that were in possession of the Central agency in connection with the complaint, and told the Division Bench that it was not mandatory for the DVAC to register a FIR immediately upon receipt of a complaint.

However, ED Special Public Prosecutor N. Ramesh had argued that the exhaustive materials, which the central agency had shared with the Tamil Nadu DGP, were not in the nature of information but of evidence and therefore, the DVAC must necessarily register a FIR before commencing a probe into the issue. He had contended that it was not right on the part of the DVAC to conduct a preliminary/detailed inquiry without registering a FIR.