Madras High Court orders FIR over fake, AI-generated books in public libraries

The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to immediately register a First Information Report (FIR) in connection with alleged fraudulent procurement of books for public libraries across the State [Ramasubbu Vs Gopal]

A bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and MD Sumathi flagged various fake and Artificial Intelligence-generated books available in public libraries.

It directed removal of such books and also ordered the immediate freezing of bank accounts belonging to Agal Vilakku Publication, its proprietor Mohan and others involved in the alleged scam.

The Court further directed the State government to initiate disciplinary action, including suspension, against officials responsible for the fraudulent procurement.

The Bench observed that despite allegations of a large-scale scam involving public money, the authorities had not registered an FIR.

"Crores of rupees has gone out of the public exchequer. It is too obvious that a crime of this humongous proportion could not have taken place but for the active involvement of government servants. Not only the BNS provisions but also the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act stand attracted," the Court said.

The order was passed in a contempt petition alleging non-compliance with directions issued by the High Court in June 2024 to ensure transparency in the procurement of books for public libraries.

The controversy came to light following allegations concerning books procured for Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore. Writer Perumal Murugan had raised concerns on social media about the alleged fraud, triggering widespread criticism.

The Court recorded that the State government had acknowledged serious irregularities in the procurement system. IAS officer Jayanthi was relieved of her responsibilities as Director of Public Libraries, the DVAC commenced an enquiry and existing procurement orders were cancelled.

However, the Bench questioned why the investigating agency had not registered a criminal case.

When the Court proposed directing the immediate registration of an FIR, the State Public Prosecutor requested that the DVAC be permitted to complete its detailed enquiry.

The Bench asked the prosecutor whether he disputed that a crime had been committed. After he answered in the negative, the Court questioned what prevented the DVAC from registering an FIR against unknown public servants.

The Court also expressed concern over the circulation of books falsely attributed to prominent writers and intellectuals.

It referred to a book titled Democracy and People's Right in the Contemporary World, found at the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai, which falsely attributed authorship to economist Jean Drèze.

The Court recorded that Drèze had denounced the book as fake.

The Bench also noted that works falsely attributed to Tamil poet Subramania Bharati were available in public libraries.

It observed that the procurement of bogus books infringed the public's right to receive accurate and quality information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

"By stacking bogus books with false content and books by phantom authors, not only the statutory duty cast under the Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Act, 1948 is being breached, the right to receive accurate and quality information is also infringed," the Court said.

The Bench further held that AI-generated and plagiarised books could fall within the expression "doubtful taste" under the Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Rules, 1950, and that books containing dubious content or false narratives should not be procured.

The Court directed authorities to identify officials involved, remove suspect books and disclose procurement expenditure. It observed that compliance with its 2024 transparency directions could have prevented the scam.

The matter will be heard next on November 11.

Senior Advocate KPS Palanivel Rajan instructed by advocate PM Vishnu Varthanan, appeared for the petitioner.

Additional Advocate General B Saravanan, assisted by Special Government Pleader M Kannan, appeared for the respondents.

State Public Prosecutor John Sathyan also appeared for the respondent.

[Read Order]