Former DMK minister Mahesh has been arrested in a corruption case after the Madras High Court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail. The development comes on the same day the court also ruled that there is no legal bar to registering a case against another former minister, K.N. Nehru.
The allegations linked to Nehru stem from recruitment in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department during the 2024–25 financial year. A total of 2,538 appointments were made for posts including assistant engineer and junior engineer, and investigators claim information surfaced during a probe that over 150 candidates paid bribes ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 35 lakh to secure jobs. The overall allegation is that bribes amounting to Rs 634 crore were collected for the appointments.
Based on these details, the Enforcement Directorate sent a letter to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police. AIADMK MP Inbathurai approached the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a case against Nehru, and the court issued such directions.
When the case was still not registered, a contempt petition was filed, after which an FIR was eventually registered. Nehru then moved the High Court seeking a stay on the registration, but a bench led by the Chief Justice dismissed the plea, stating there was no impediment to proceeding with the case.
In a separate matter, Mahesh faces allegations of collecting bribes of up to Rs 100 crore for granting recognition to private schools. With his anticipatory bail plea dismissed, he was taken into custody, triggering political buzz over the simultaneous legal setbacks for the two former ministers.
