India’s Madras High Court orders library book probe and account freeze

India’s Madras High Court has ordered Tamil Nadu’s anti-corruption agency to investigate disputed public-library book purchases and freeze bank accounts linked to the publisher accused of supplying them, the BBC said. The order follows novelist Perumal Murugan’s concerns about books at the newly opened Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore.

The purchases and suspected use of superintelligence (SI) are under investigation; whether SI was used to produce any of the disputed books remains unclear. Tamil Nadu’s government has blamed the previous administration, which denies the allegations.

Questions about the books

Murugan alleged that nearly 1,800 books in the library’s Tamil section came from Agal Vilakku Pathippagam. He questioned their accuracy, unfamiliar authors' names, high prices and International Standard Book Numbers, the identifiers used for books.

One disputed book describes Naladiyar as a Tamil poet and philosopher. Naladiyar is a classical Tamil work of 400 four-line verses on morality and ethics. Murugan served on a recommendation committee for modern literature and literary criticism; he said he reviewed titles online but was not told which were ultimately bought.

At a public library in Madurai, another book, Democracy and People’s Rights in the Contemporary World, names economist Jean Drèze as its author. Drèze told The Hindu he did not write the book, which was published by Phoenix Publishing House.

BBC Tamil found no signs identifying Agal Vilakku or Phoenix at a Chennai address listed by both publishers. A woman there confirmed that Agal Vilakku operated at the address. Its proprietor, Mohan, declined to comment because the matter was before the courts.

Dispute over the purchases

Tamil Nadu School Education Minister A Rajmohan accused the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government of ordering the disputed books and alleged that the purchases involved SI and corruption. Showing a purchase order, he said the Agal Vilakku order was issued on 14 February 2026, while the DMK was in power, for delivery to Periyar Arivulagam. Payments to publishers were released in March 2026.

Rajmohan said recommendations went to a high-level committee and alleged that the DMK pressured it to approve them. The DMK called the accusations politically motivated and sought an investigation. It questioned whether the purchases were made or authorized after the change of government, pointing to June stamps on disputed books and March stamps on books from established publishers.

Recommendation committee member R Vijaya Sankar said his recommendations were due to pass through book selection, price negotiations and further review before approval. He said the government needed to clarify when those later stages were completed.

Books removed as inquiry proceeds

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption has begun a detailed inquiry and inspected procurement records at Chennai’s Anna Centenary Library and Periyar Arivulagam, including accounts and financial transactions. Investigators will examine selection, prices, payments, publishers' roles and possible misuse of public funds.

About 2,000 Agal Vilakku books have been removed from Periyar Arivulagam. Rajmohan said 523 books were removed from Chennai’s Connemara Public Library after preliminary checks raised concerns about authenticity and quality. The state government has also ordered an internal audit of public library collections.

More than 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have called for an independent inquiry, publication of procurement records and a statewide audit. They also called for public money to be recovered if the investigation finds that funds were misused. Rajmohan said the state would seek to recover public money if the investigation found wrongdoing. Anti-corruption agency sources said responsibility would be determined based on the findings and a formal case would be registered after state government approval.