Chennai, March 3 The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court on Tuesday that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) is considering filing a review petition against the court's order from February 20, which directed it to register a First Information Report (FIR) in the alleged bribery-for-jobs scam linked to the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, headed by Minister K.N. Nehru.
Appearing before the division bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, Advocate General P.S. Raman said that the DVAC was contemplating a review of the order mandating the immediate registration of the FIR.
The submission was made during the hearing of a contempt petition filed by All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Rajya Sabha member I.S. Inbadurai, against former DVAC Director (in-charge) A.T. Durai Kumar.
The petitioner alleged willful disobedience of the High Court's directive, pointing out that more than 10 days had elapsed without compliance.
Opening arguments for the petitioner, senior counsel V. Raghavachari contended that the DVAC had failed to act despite clear judicial instructions.
When the Bench sought the state's response, Raman clarified that the Advocate General typically does not appear in contempt proceedings and that senior counsel N.R. Elango would represent the DVAC. However, he added that the agency had sought his legal opinion on whether prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was necessary before registering the FIR.
After preliminary submissions, the bench directed the DVAC to file a detailed counter-affidavit within two weeks and adjourned the matter.
In his affidavit, Inbadurai described the alleged scam as "grave and systematic", claiming that bribes ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh were collected from candidates for 2,538 posts, including Assistant Engineers and Junior Engineers.
He cited findings by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), which reportedly uncovered material suggesting the money was routed through hawala channels before entering the banking system.
The ED is said to have seized documents during searches at the residences of the Minister’s brothers, N. Ravichandran and K.N. Manivannan, among others.
The High Court had earlier expressed dissatisfaction with the DVAC conducting only a preliminary inquiry despite the ED’s inputs, and directed immediate registration of an FIR, noting the seriousness of the allegations.