Madras High Court restrains Chennai police from probing TVK MLA bribery case

The Madras High Court has issued an interim stay on the investigation into a bribery case involving TVK MLAs, preventing the Triplicane police in Chennai from proceeding further until August 27, 2026. This decision was made following individual writ petitions filed by two accused, S. Sethuraj from Bengaluru and S. Karthik from Tiruppur, who sought the transfer of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The court's First Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, granted the interim orders, directing the High Court Registry to list the case for the next hearing on August 27, after issuing notices to the police and the CBI.

The case arose from a complaint filed by Uthangarai MLA N. Elaiyaraja, alleging that he had been offered a bribe of ₹35 crore. The complaint stated that the caller, who identified himself as Thirunavukarasu from a political entity called Indian Political Democratic Strategies (IPDS), insisted on meeting the MLA in person to discuss a lucrative offer from an important party.

When the MLA refused the in-person meeting, the caller continued to insist, and despite the MLA's requests to discuss the matter over the phone, the conversation ended unsatisfactorily. Subsequent calls from the same number, primarily via WhatsApp, did not deter the MLA, leading to a further threat by the caller that he and his family would face consequences if the conversation were to leak.

The MLA rejected the offer and reported the incident, resulting in the initiation of the police investigation.

Initially, the investigation was confined to the Triplicane Police Station, but after the filing of identical writ petitions by two more accused, the court expanded the stay to cover the entire investigation. The judges emphasized that the stay applied to all aspects of the investigation related to Crime No. 205 of 2026, specifically within the jurisdiction of the D-1 Triplicane Police Station.

This development occurred despite a previous interim order issued on July 29, 2026, which had only restrained proceedings concerning one accused, T. Ramesh of Karur, who also sought a CBI probe. The order on July 29 had questioned the validity of Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, which permits police to arrest suspects without a prior notice of inquiry.

The TVK MLA had lodged the complaint, alleging that he received a phone call from a specific number on June 26, 2026, claiming to be from IPDS. The caller insisted on a face-to-face meeting, which the MLA declined. Subsequent calls were made via WhatsApp, yet the MLA did not engage. When the MLA eventually responded to one of these calls, the caller warned that the TVK-led government would not survive and offered ₹35 crore if the MLA agreed to vote against the TVK whip during a resolution against Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker J.C.D.

Prabhakar. The MLA declined the offer, and the caller threatened repercussions if the conversation was disclosed. This series of events prompted the police to arrest Senthilbalaji, along with his brother, leading to their subsequent filing of anticipatory bail petitions.