Chennai, Oct 29:
The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Thursday conducted simultaneous searches at around 20 locations linked to senior DMK leader and former Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru in connection with an alleged ₹634-crore cash-for-jobs scam, two days after the Madras High Court dismissed his review petition and cleared the way for a criminal investigation.
The searches, which began in the morning, covered Nehru’s premises, including his residence at Thillai Nagar, and properties linked to his brother K N Ravichandran in Chennai. DVAC teams also searched the residence of former DMK MLA A P Nandhakumar at Gandhi Nagar in Katpadi, Vellore district. Nandhakumar represented the Anaikattu Assembly constituency.
The case relates to alleged bribes collected for appointments to 2,538 posts, including assistant engineers, junior engineers and town planning officers, in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department during the previous DMK regime. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in a communication accompanied by a 232-page dossier sent to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police in October 2025, alleged that ₹634 crore had been collected as bribes in connection with the recruitment process.
The Madras High Court had on February 20, 2026, directed the DVAC to register a criminal case against Nehru based on the material provided by the ED. The direction followed a petition filed by AIADMK MP I S Inbadurai, who sought registration of an FIR based on his representation and the ED’s findings.
Nehru subsequently filed a review petition challenging the order, arguing that it had been passed without hearing him and that the government could not withdraw a petition filed during the previous regime. The Madras High Court’s First Bench, comprising Chief Justice S A Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan, dismissed the review plea on October 26.
The Bench observed that the material supplied by the ED disclosed a prima facie case involving cognisable offences and that the registration of an FIR could not be delayed through a prolonged preliminary inquiry. It also held that registration of a case was mandatory under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The latest searches mark a further step in the DVAC investigation into the alleged recruitment scam. The allegations against Nehru and others are yet to be established through the investigation and legal proceedings.