Madras High Court Orders Vigilance Probe Into Cash-For-Jobs Case

In a significant development barely two months ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly election, the Madras High Court has directed the state's Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to immediately file a case in the "cash for jobs" case in the Municipal Administration Department involving the minister in charge KN Nehru, his associates and brothers.

The direction came on petitions seeking action based on material shared by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had earlier sent detailed dossiers alleging large-scale bribery in recruitment and transfers within the department headed by KN Nehru.

Court's Sharp Observations

In a strongly worded order delivered yesterday, the division bench said the material forwarded by the ED disclosed offences requiring immediate action. Quoting settled law, the court said: "Reasonableness or credibility of the said information is not a condition precedent for the registration of a case."

It said that prompt FIR filing prevents later manipulation, noting: "The object... is inter alia twofold: one, that the criminal process is set into motion... and second, that the earliest information... is recorded so that there cannot be any embellishment later."

The bench also dismissed one of the petitions filed as a public interest litigation, stating: "We have no hesitation to hold that the writ petition... does not deserve consideration... when the petitioner's own bona fides are under serious cloud."

However, it allowed the connected plea seeking registration of an FIR based on ED material, emphasising that when serious allegations supported by documents are placed before an investigative agency, it must act in accordance with law.

ED's Explosive Allegations

According to the ED, bribes ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh were allegedly collected for recruitment to posts such as assistant engineers, junior engineers and town planning officers. The agency said searches conducted in connection with a separate probe yielded documents and electronic records, including "predetermined selection lists... prima facie disclosing the existence of a systematic and organised job racket in the recruitment process."

It told the court it had shared 232 pages of records with the police under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, arguing this constituted sufficient material to register a criminal case. The court noted that quashing of the earlier bank fraud case did not affect the relevance of the material related to recruitment.

KN Nehru has strongly denied the allegations, calling them politically motivated and asserting he would "face the case legally and prove the truth in court." Sources close to him say the earlier case during which the material were seized did not result in prosecution.

Political Heat Rises

The order has intensified political tensions ahead of the elections. Actor-politician Vijay demanded the minister's resignation, saying if he does not step down, Chief Minister MK Stalin should remove him from the cabinet.

With the high court now mandating registration of a case, the DVAC's next steps will be closely watched, as the controversy threatens to snowball into a major election issue in Tamil Nadu.

Over the last few years opposition parties across the country have been alleging that the BJP at the centre undermines central agencies including the enforcement directorate to target political opponents, a charge BJP denies. They also point out the supreme court exposed electoral Bond scam, companies targeted by the ED making huge donations to the BJP strengthening the case for misuse of power.