Madurai, Nov 11:
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register an FIR into alleged multi-crore irregularities in the procurement of books for public libraries across Tamil Nadu.
A division bench comprising Justices G.R. Swaminathan and M.D. Sumathi also ordered the immediate freezing of bank accounts belonging to Agal Vilakku Publications, its proprietor Mohan, and others linked to the alleged supply of fake and AI-generated books.
Hearing a contempt petition regarding non-compliance with earlier court directives aimed at ensuring transparent book procurement, the bench questioned why an FIR had not been registered even after evidence of irregularities had emerged.
The court directed the state government to initiate disciplinary action, including suspension of officials implicated in the procurement process.
The bench further instructed authorities to prepare an inventory of the questioned titles and ensure they are immediately withdrawn and prevented from reaching readers in public libraries.