Madras High Court Rejects Tamil Nadu Minister KN Nehru's Review Plea In Cash-For-Jobs Scam

Chennai: The Madras High Court has dismissed former Tamil Nadu minister KN Nehru's review petition challenging its earlier order directing the registration of a case into alleged bribery in recruitment to the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department during the previous DMK regime.A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan rejected Nehru's plea, arguing that the court had passed the February 20 order without giving him an opportunity to be heard. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) registered a case on June 5, 2026, following the court's direction. The case stems from material shared by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which alleged a cash-for-jobs racket involving recruitment to 2,538 posts in the department. The posts included assistant engineers, junior engineers, town planning officers and other staff.According to the ED, bribes ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh were allegedly collected from candidates seeking government jobs. The agency's findings emerged during a search at the premises of KN Ravichandran, Nehru's brother, in connection with a separate bank fraud investigation.The ED allegedly recovered WhatsApp conversations, digital records, call letters and predetermined selection lists. The material, the agency claimed, indicated that recruitment had been manipulated and that some candidates' selection-related documents had been shared before the process was completed.The earlier High Court order referred to material concerning at least 147 candidates whose call letters were allegedly shared in advance, alongside communications and records relating to their eventual selection. Investigators also alleged that Rs10 currency notes were used in hawala transaction communications to identify or track payments, with screenshots and other records forming part of the material forwarded to the police.The ED sent its dossier to the Tamil Nadu police under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, seeking action. The High Court had held that the material disclosed information warranting registration of a case and a detailed investigation.In dismissing Nehru's review plea, the court made clear that its earlier order was not a finding of guilt."The Court did not, and at that stage could not, decide anyone's guilt," the Bench observed, adding that the material represented the ED's case and that the allegations must be tested through investigation and, subsequently, by a criminal court if required."A direction to register an FIR is not a finding against anyone. It only starts the process of investigation," the court said.Nehru has denied the allegations and described the action as politically motivated. Earlier he had called ED's credibility at a low following the top court's expose on the electoral bonds issue.