The Madras High Court on Friday, February 20, strongly criticised the Tamil Nadu government for failing to register an FIR in the alleged cash-for-jobs scam involving the recruitment of Assistant Engineers in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department (MAWS), despite receiving detailed evidence from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) nearly three months ago.
The case pertains to allegations that several candidates were recruited as Assistant Engineers after allegedly paying large sums of money as bribes. The ED had shared what the court described as “detailed source information” along with voluminous material evidence with the State government on October 27, 2025.
Observing that the available materials prima facie disclosed the commission of a cognisable offence, the bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan said the evidence was sufficient to register a case and initiate a formal investigation. Instead, the State had delayed action under the pretext of conducting a preliminary enquiry.
“Under the guise of a preliminary investigation, the State is embarking upon a mini-trial,” the court said in its order.
The Vigilance Department had been granted approval to conduct a detailed investigation. However, it informed the court that it was still in the process of collecting documents and records from various departments.
The bench noted that this was not a case based on a mere complaint requiring verification. “It is not a case where they have received a bare complaint which necessitated an enquiry. In the case on hand, it is detailed source information provided by the Enforcement Directorate with voluminous evidence prima facie disclosing a cognisable offence,” the court observed.
The court further pointed out that even a preliminary enquiry, as permitted under Section 173(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), ought to have been completed within 14 days. Instead, more than three-and-a-half months had passed without the registration of a case.
“The fact that though the source information was shared on 27.10.2025, even after 3½ months it has not resulted in the registration of a case, prima facie shows that the State, under the guise of conducting a preliminary enquiry, is not inclined to register a case,” the order stated.
The court said the manner in which the Vigilance Department was handling the matter “raises serious doubts and concerns.”
While the bench observed that it was inclined to hand over the investigation to an independent agency, it said that they are considering the fact that the Vigilance Department has been entrusted with the case by the State. “We deem it appropriate that the Vigilance Department should be directed to forthwith register a case and conduct a detailed investigation and take suitable further action based on the investigation report.”
Case background
On October 27, 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) wrote to the Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu, alleging that several candidates had secured posts including Assistant Engineers, Junior Engineers and Town Planning Officers after paying bribes ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh.
The ED submitted a 232-page dossier containing the names of beneficiaries, transaction details and digital evidence to substantiate its allegations.
However, the ED is legally barred from proceeding under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) unless a predicate offence is registered through an FIR. In this case, no FIR has yet been filed by the State.
It is alleged that around 150 candidates were appointed to various posts under MAWS Department after paying bribes, and that the recruitment processes for 2024–25 and 2025–26 were manipulated for this purpose. Appointment orders for these recruitments were handed over by Chief Minister MK Stalin in August 2025.
The complaint stems from findings during raids conducted in April as part of a money laundering investigation linked to True Value Homes (TVH), a real estate firm associated with KN Ravichandran, brother of Minister KN Nehru.
In December 2025, the ED sent another letter to the Tamil Nadu government seeking a probe into separate bribery allegations concerning the allocation of tenders under the same department. In that instance, the agency attached a 258-page dossier of evidence.
The ED alleged that contractors paid between 7.5% and 10% of the contract value as bribes to associates of the minister in exchange for securing tenders that were allegedly pre-decided. According to the ED, corruption amounting to Rs 1,020 crore was involved in the award of contracts for works including community toilets, outsourcing of sanitation workers and projects funded by NABARD.