Key Facts

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court ordered the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) to register a regular First Information Report (FIR) and freeze the bank accounts of Agal Vilakku Publications in connection with the large-scale book procurement irregularities at Coimbatore's Periyar Arivulagam. The court's order followed preliminary DVAC inspections that uncovered forged publisher records, artificial price inflations, and AI-generated plagiarised content passed off as original research. Following the revelations, the Tamil Nadu government also cancelled a massive ₹30-crore book purchase order intended for the upcoming Kamarajar Centenary Library in Tiruchi.

GK Context

Public libraries in Tamil Nadu function under the Directorate of Public Libraries under the School Education Department, governed by the Tamil Nadu Public Libraries Act, 1948 (the first library legislation enacted in independent India). Procurement involves transparency guidelines under the Tamil Nadu Transparency in Tenders Act, 1998. The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) is the premier anti-graft agency of the state, investigating criminal misconduct and corruption offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.