K.N. Nehru cash-for-jobs scam case: Madras High Court dismisses his review application

K.N. Nehru. File

The Madras High Court on Monday (October 26, 2026) dismissed a review application filed by former DMK Minister K.N. Nehru urging the court to reconsider its February 20 direction to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) to register a case forthwith regarding the multi-crore cash-for-jobs scam during his tenure.

First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan refused to make any changes to the direction issued by a Bench comprising former Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Murugan early this year while disposing of a writ petition filed by AIADMK Rajya Sabha member I.S. Inbadurai.

Since the direction was not complied with immediately, the writ petitioner filed a contempt of court petition on February 20 against the then Director of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (in-charge) A.T. Durai Kumar. Thereafter, the then DMK government and Mr. Nehru filed individual review applications on March 16.

When the contempt petition and the two review applications were heard together by the Bench led by Chief Justice Dharmadhikari on April 28, the Bench recorded the submission made by senior counsel V. Raghavachari for the contempt petitioner that the petitioner shall not precipitate the proceedings till the next hearing on June 23.

However, on June 5, senior counsel P.H. Arvindh Pandian, representing Mr. Nehru, made a mention before the first Bench and complained that the DVAC was initiating coercive action against the review applicant. In response, Advocate General Vijay Narayan told the court that the DVAC had registered a First Information Report (FIR) on that day.

The A-G said that he was not aware of any oral undertaking given by his predecessor to the court and therefore, he had given a legal opinion to the DVAC to register the FIR as per the February 20 direction. He also told the Bench that the State government intends to withdraw the review application filed during the DMK regime “to save its then Minister.”

After recording his submissions, the judges said, no harm would be caused to the State if further proceedings were kept in abeyance till the final disposal of the contempt petition as well as the review applications. Thereafter, they reserved their judgement on August 10 and directed the DVAC not to take any action until the orders get pronounced.

It was the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) which on October 27, 2025 shared a 232-page dossier with the then Tamil Nadu Director General of Police/Head of Police Force (DGP/HoPF) levelling the cash-for-jobs allegation in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) department led by the then Minister Mr. Nehru.

The ED had laid its hands on the incriminating materials in April 2025 while conducting a search and seizure operation, in connection with a bank fraud case, at the premises associated with Mr. Nehru’s brother N. Ravichandran. It had shared the information with the DGP in accordance with Section 66 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The materials reportedly disclosed several crores of rupees having exchanged hands through hawala transactions for filling up 2,538 posts of Assistant Engineers, Junior Engineers and Town Planning Officers in the MAWS department. They revealed receipt of bribe amount of ₹25 lakh to ₹35 lakh per person and sharing of call letters with the candidates even before those people were officially selected and appointed.

Observing that the materials shared by the ED was sufficient for the DVAC to register a FIR, the Bench led by former Chief Justice Shrivastava had said, the dossier contained solid material to arrive at a prima facie conclusion of corruption to the tune of several crore of rupees in offering and securing government jobs.

Further, criticising the DVAC for having conducted only a preliminary inquiry even after the receipt of ED’s dossier, the Bench had also said, “it raises serious doubts and concern.” It impressed upon the need to take action against the 2,538 government servants too if their recruitment process was ultimately found to have been rigged.

“In cases involving such complications and sensitive issues, the State ought to have acted diligently and should have registered a case without any delay and conducted a detailed investigation. Any delay in registering and investigating the case, may give room to destruction of material evidences which would be detrimental to the case,” the former Chief Justice Shrivastava’s Bench had written on February 20.

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Then, the judges also said that though they were satisfied that the investigation could be entrusted to an indpendent and specialised agency, they permitted the DVAC to conduct the probe since the State government had referred the issue to it. They had also ordered conduct of an expeditious investigation into the matter.

Since the February 20, 2026 order had been complied with by the DVAC by registering a FIR, the Bench led by Chief Justice Dharmadhikari closed the contempt petition and permitted the State to withdraw its review application.

Tamil Nadu / Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam / corruption & bribery