Periyar Library Book Scam: High Court Orders Police Case, Freezes Publisher's Bank Account
The directions came during the hearing of a contempt petition that alleged that the authorities have failed to comply with an earlier court order on transparent procurement of books for public libraries.
· NDTVChennai:
A police case should be lodged immediately into the alleged irregularities in the procurement of books for public libraries in Tamil Nadu, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court told the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption on Tuesday.
The court has also ordered the freezing of bank accounts belonging to Agal Vilakku Publications, its proprietor Mohan and others involved in the alleged scam.
The directions came during the hearing of a contempt petition that alleged that the authorities have failed to comply with an earlier court order on transparent procurement of books for public libraries.
The Bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and MD Sumathi directed the government to initiate disciplinary action, including suspension of officials involved. The Director of Public Libraries has been asked to identify officials responsible for fraudulent procurements over the past two years.
The authorities must disclose the exact amount spent on procuring these books and submit relevant records, the court said.
The Director of Public Libraries has been asked to file an affidavit detailing the entire sequence of events and identify everyone involved.
Why The Court Flagged The Violations
The contempt case stems from an order from June 2024 which directed the government to follow the Transparent Book Procurement Policy.
The safeguards included a dedicated website for procurement, publication of details of shortlisted books and their covers, and a month's time for publishers and the public to raise objections. The court had also ordered an inquiry into alleged unfair practices, followed by a report and action against officials responsible. The procurement conditions prohibit repurchasing the same book within five years and flag practices such as changing titles or authors' names.
The latest order also invokes Rule 18(4) of the Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Rules, 1950, which requires books to have general interest and cultural value and bars works of doubtful taste. The Bench said this standard must extend to non-fiction as well.
The court observed: "A book with dubious content and false narratives is certainly one with doubtful taste. AI-generated and plagiarised works also would fall within this ambit."
It said books by first-time authors must be scrutinised by the selection committee and assessed against the standard expected of established authors.
How The Scam Surfaced
The proceedings follow allegations of large-scale irregularities in book procurement for Periyar Arivulagam, a Rs 300-crore project built during the previous DMK regime and inaugurated by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on October 16, after the TVK came to power.
Writer Perumal Murugan recently raised concerns over poor-quality books, questionable authorship and publishers, and content allegedly generated using AI.
Agal Vilakku was among the publishers whose books came under scrutiny.
The controversy triggered public criticism and a political confrontation, with the ruling TVK and the DMK blaming each other over responsibility for the procurement.
The government has acknowledged the irregularities, existing procurement orders have been cancelled, and the DVAC had begun an inquiry. The High Court noted that no FIR had been registered despite the allegations, and has now ordered one to be filed.
The contempt petition will continue, with the matter posted for further hearing on November 11.
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