The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to investigate allegations of fake certificates issued within the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services and to file a report.
The direction comes in the backdrop of a Tirunelveli case in which unknown persons allegedly placed Rs 2.5 lakh in the office of Deputy Director Saravanababu on the night of November 17, 2025. DVAC had registered a case against Saravanababu and a SIPCOT fireman from Thoothukudi, Senthilkumar, in connection with the incident.
Subsequently, it emerged that the episode may have been a staged attempt by fire service officials to trap the deputy director. Based on Saravanababu’s complaint, Perumalpuram police arrested five persons, while a Tiruppur fire officer, Veeraraj, is said to be absconding.
Senthilkumar moved the Madurai Bench seeking a CBI probe. During the hearing before Justice Pugazhendi, it was stated that Saravanababu had earlier taken action in Kanyakumari over a fake certificate allegedly issued by a Raj Bhavan fireman in Chennai, and those affected may have tried to implicate him.
The court asked DVAC to examine fake certificates allegedly issued by senior fire service officials across the State, including two such certificates said to have been issued in Kanyakumari during 2019–2020, and posted the matter to March 26.
