Madras High Court orders DVAC to file case against TN Minister KN Nehru, raps State for delay

The Madras High Court on Friday directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a criminal case based on Enforcement Directorate (ED) inputs alleging large-scale corruption against Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Minister KN Nehru. [Athinarayanan v. State].A Bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Srivastava and Justice Arul Murugan pulled up the State for the delay in taking action against the Minister. The Court held that the material furnished by the ED clearly disclosed the commission of a cognisable offence and that a case ought to have been registered long ago.“The details shared and materials available reveal that those candidates got selected pursuant to the alleged transactions. And when a large-scale corruption stated to have happened involving several hundred crores of rupees, we find that source material is sufficient enough disclosing the commission of a cognisable offence for the purpose of registering a case,” the Court observed. .The Bench noted that the ED had shared detailed source information with the State under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on October 27, 2025, along with voluminous supporting material.“It was for the State to register a case on the detailed information shared by the Enforcement Directorate…and they could have thereafter concluded a detailed investigation to unravel the truth and bring the culprits to book,” the Court said..The Court made it clear that the ED’s communication could not be treated as a mere complaint requiring prolonged preliminary verification.“It is not a case where the authorities have received a bare complaint…it is a detailed source information provided by the Enforcement Directorate with a voluminous set of evidence…disclosing a cognisable offence,” it said..It added that since the State had already entrusted the matter to the Vigilance Department, it was appropriate to direct that agency to proceed.The Court, therefore, directed the DVAC to register a case based on the ED’s communication dated October 27, 2025, conduct a detailed and expeditious investigation and take further action in accordance with law..The case stems from petitions seeking a direction to register a first information report (FIR) based on material shared by the ED flagging alleged large-scale corruption in the MAWS Department.According to the ED, its investigation uncovered digital material suggesting that bribes were allegedly collected in exchange for favourable transfers and postings of engineers and other officials. The agency is stated to have traced hundreds of transfer and posting orders from electronic devices seized from associates, with alleged bribes ranging from lakhs to crores per posting.The ED also flagged alleged irregularities in the award of municipal contracts, claiming that kickbacks were collected as a percentage of contract values and that the proceeds were routed through a network of associates..[Read Judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.