Vigilance searches 25 premises in ₹634-crore recruitment bribery case linked to KN Nehru

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) searched 25 premises across Tamil Nadu on Thursday, 29 October 2026, in an alleged ₹634-crore bribery case in the Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MAWS) Department. The case concerns the period when KN Nehru held the municipal administration portfolio during the previous DMK government. The searches included the Chennai home and office of N Ravichandran, the brother of Nehru, who owns TVH (True Value Homes). Reports do not say that Ravichandran, TVH or its company is accused of any offence.

What the searches covered

According to an official statement issued by the DVAC, the agency seized 170 documents and 13 electronic devices during the operation. The searches began at about 7.30 am. At Nehru's residence in Thillai Nagar, Tiruchirappalli, they lasted nearly eight hours. Nehru was present when they began. Ravichandran's residence and office in Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai, were also searched, as were two other locations in Srirangam and Tiruvanaikoil in the Tiruchy district. Thursday's action was the second round of DVAC searches at premises linked to Nehru since September.

The DVAC says the case concerns alleged irregularities in the recruitment of 2,538 candidates to posts including assistant engineers and junior engineers in the MAWS Department during 2024-25. The agency alleges that ₹634 crore was collected as bribes for these appointments. Officials are now examining the documents and financial records seized to trace the alleged money trail and the recruitment process.

The case behind the searches

The recruitment case was registered on 5 June 2026 against Nehru and seven others. It was based on a complaint and documents forwarded by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Enforcement Directorate had written to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police seeking registration. An AIADMK MP then approached the Madras High Court for a direction to the DVAC to register the case. In February, the High Court directed the DVAC to do so. A division bench of the court later dismissed a challenge filed on Nehru's behalf against that order.

Nehru has since approached the Supreme Court. He filed a Special Leave Petition a day before the searches, challenging the High Court's 26 October order that dismissed his review petition against the registration of the case. No hearing date has been reported.

A separate DVAC case, registered by its Special Investigation Cell on 4 September 2026, names Nehru and 12 others. It alleges that tenders worth more than ₹1,020 crore were manipulated and that bribes were collected between 2021 and 2025. This case is distinct from the recruitment case in which the June registration was made.

Reacting to the searches, former Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin accused Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay of engaging in "vendetta politics". Speaking on Thursday, Stalin said that not even the toenail of the party's grassroots cadre would fear the raids. The current government has not been quoted on the searches in the reports reviewed.

What it means for buyers and the company

None of the reports links the searches to a specific TVH project, and no official statement has named the company. The company has not, in the reports found, issued a statement about the searches. Buyers of any TVH project have no order or action affecting their homes in the material available. Those who want to check a project's registration can search for it on the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) portal, using the registration number printed in the project's sales documents.

TVH, which lists operations in Chennai, Tiruchy, Coimbatore and Kochi, has projects including TVH Quadrant in Adyar and TVH Nivaan in Saligramam. Its founder and chairman is N Ravichandran, according to the company's own profile. Investigators have not sought any action against those projects in the reports reviewed.

What happens next

The DVAC investigation is continuing, and the evidence seized in the searches is under review. No dated charge sheet, summons or next hearing has been reported for Ravichandran or for TVH. The Supreme Court's decision on Nehru's petition is the next legal step to watch in the recruitment case. For readers following the company, the key question is whether the investigation names TVH or its directors, and nothing reported so far says it does.