The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea by former Tamil Nadu minister K. N. Nehru challenging a Madras High Court direction to register an FIR against him on corruption allegations based on material shared by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). A bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu said no ground had been made out to interfere with the High Court's February 20 judgment or its October 26 order dismissing Nehru's review petition, LiveLaw reported.

Source: LiveLaw

The bench clarified that the High Court's observations will be treated as necessary only for the disposal of the matters, and that they will not prevent Nehru from raising his defence at the appropriate stage. The dismissal is a new development in the case: it follows the High Court's October 26 dismissal of Nehru's review petition, which this site reported earlier, and the vigilance searches at premises linked to him on October 29.

The alleged Rs 634 crore cash-for-jobs case

The case concerns alleged irregularities in recruitment to 2,538 posts in the Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department, involving alleged illegal gratification of approximately Rs 634 crore (about Rs 6.34 billion). These are allegations, not findings of guilt. According to LiveLaw, the ED forwarded material to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police in October 2025 alleging corruption in the recruitment process, and asked the state police to act against the minister and his associates under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Source: LiveLaw

2,538posts in the alleged recruitment case
Rs 634 crorealleged illegal gratification
20 Feb 2026Madras High Court directed FIR registration
26 Oct 2026High Court dismissed Nehru's review petition

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Nehru, argued that the High Court order was passed without giving him an effective hearing, saying the notice reached him on the day the matter was reserved for orders. He also argued on merits that the ED's enforcement case information report had been quashed by the Madras High Court in July 2025 after the predicate offence was quashed, so the ED could not invoke Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to share information with the state police. The bench was not persuaded, and pointed out that Nehru had been served notice but did not join the proceedings.

The case reached the courts after writ petitions by Athinarayanan and by AIADMK Rajya Sabha member I. S. Inbadurai sought directions to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a complaint based on the ED's information, Bar and Bench reported in its coverage of the October 26 High Court order. The state government had also filed a review, but withdrew it after the change of government, while Nehru filed his own review and then moved the Supreme Court on October 26; the state had filed a caveat.

Source: Bar and Bench

What happens next: with the Supreme Court refusing to interfere, the High Court's direction stands and the investigation can proceed, while Nehru remains free to raise his defence at the appropriate stage, as the bench clarified. The DVAC had already carried out fresh searches at premises linked to Nehru on October 29, IANS reported. Registering a case is only the start of an investigation and does not by itself establish anyone's guilt.

Source: IANS via HiIndia