CourtsSupreme Court
Supreme Court rejects K N Nehru's plea, Madras HC order for corruption FIR stands
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu refused to interfere with the High Court's direction over the alleged cash-for-jobs racket in Tamil Nadu's municipal administration department.
Key points
- The Supreme Court dismissed former minister K N Nehru's plea on Monday.
- The Madras High Court's direction to register a corruption FIR against him stands.
- The ED had flagged alleged bribes of about ₹634 crore for 2,538 posts.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea by K N Nehru, the former Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader, against a Madras High Court direction to register a corruption FIR against him over an alleged cash-for-jobs racket.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu said it found no ground to interfere with the High Court’s judgment of 20 February or with its order of 26 October rejecting Nehru’s review petition. The State of Tamil Nadu had filed a caveat in the case.
What the bench said
The bench made one concession. It said the High Court’s remarks were made only to dispose of the petitions before it and would not stop Nehru from raising his defence at the proper stage. Justice Datta disagreed with the argument that the High Court had returned findings against the former minister, saying it had only recorded observations.
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, for Nehru, argued that the case had been brought by his client’s political opponents and asked for caution.
“When a political rival has approached the Court, the Court ought to be more circumspect.”
Divan also argued that the Enforcement Directorate’s money-laundering case (ECIR) had been quashed in July 2025, so the agency had no power to share its material with the state police under Section 66(2) of the PMLA. The bench was not persuaded and dismissed the petition.
How the case reached Delhi
In October 2025 the ED wrote to the Tamil Nadu police chief alleging a cash-for-jobs racket in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply department, covering recruitment to 2,538 posts and about ₹634 crore in alleged bribes. No action followed.
Writ petitions by Athinarayanan and AIADMK Rajya Sabha member I S Inbadurai led the High Court to order an FIR in February. The state government filed a review but withdrew it after the change of government. Nehru then filed his own review, saying he had not been heard. The High Court dismissed it on 26 October and he moved the Supreme Court the same day.
With Monday’s order, the state’s anti-corruption agency must now act on the ED’s information.