Madras High Court rejects K N Nehru plea in ₹634 crore jobs case

The Madras High Court dismissed K N Nehru's review plea against the DVAC probe order. The ruling allows the ₹634 crore cash-for-jobs investigation to continue without determining guilt.Chennai,Oct 26, 2026 16:54 ISTThe Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a review petition filed by DMK leader and former minister K N Nehru against its earlier order directing the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a case over an alleged 634 crore cash-for-jobs scam, news agency Press Trust of India reported.A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan also dismissed as withdrawn a review petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government. It closed a contempt petition filed by AIADMK MP and advocate I S Inbadurai.According to PTI, the matter relates to allegations of cash-for-jobs when Nehru headed the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department during the DMK government's 2021-26 term in Tamil Nadu.Dismissing Nehru's petition, the bench said its earlier order had been reserved on February 4, 2026, and pronounced on February 20, leaving a gap of 16 days. It said Nehru could have moved an application during this period if he wanted to bring anything to the court's attention after receiving the notice, but did not do so. The bench said this supported the Advocate General's submission that Nehru had watched the proceedings before raising his objection. It added that the earlier order had only directed the registration of a case and an investigation, and had not decided anyone's guilt.The court said its observations had recorded the Enforcement Directorate's case and were not its own conclusions. It said the investigation would determine whether the material held up and whether Nehru or his relatives had any role in the alleged acts. A criminal court would decide the matter later, if required. The bench said a direction to register a first information report was not a finding against anyone but only the beginning of an investigation. Nehru would have the opportunity to present his version during the investigation and, if the matter proceeded that far, at trial.It said the lack of a hearing before the process began was not sufficient to recall an otherwise reasoned order. “We are not persuaded that the delay in serving notice on the review applicant amounts to a breach of natural justice to recall the order,” the bench said.The court noted that its direction had been issued to the DVAC, which had been a party throughout the proceedings. Nehru was not the subject of any direction and was, at best, a person named in the material forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate that formed the basis of the order.The bench said registering a case and investigating it was a preliminary step that did not determine anyone's guilt. Such a step did not have to await the version of every person who might eventually be investigated, it added.On the contempt petition, the bench said the complaint was that its February 20, 2026, order had not been followed. With the government's review petition withdrawn and the Advocate General assuring the court that the authority concerned would continue the investigation based on the registered FIR, the grievance had been addressed. “We see no purpose in keeping the contempt petition alive,” the bench said.The High Court, therefore, dismissed Nehru's review petition, allowed the state government to withdraw its petition and closed the contempt proceedings after receiving an assurance that the investigation would continue.- Ends