The Madras High Court on Tuesday restrained the Triplicane police in Chennai from investigating the TVK MLAs’ attempted bribery case booked on the basis of Uthangarai MLA N. Elaiyaraja’s complaint of having been offered a bribe of ₹35 crore. It granted an interim stay of all further proceedings till August 27, 2026.

First Division Bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan passed the interim orders following individual writ petitions filed by two accused S. Sethuraj of Bengaluru and S. Karthik of Tiruppur for transferring the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“The further proceedings and the investigation in Crime No. 205 of 2026 on the file of the D-1 Triplicane Police Station, Chennai shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing,” the judges ordered and directed the High Court Registry to list the case next on August 27 after issuance of notices to the police and CBI.

The Bench had passed a similar order on July 29, 2026 but that order had restricted the interim stay only with respect to one of the accused T. Ramesh of Karur who too had sought a CBI probe into the matter besides questioning the validity of Section 17 of the Prevention of Corruption Act which empowers to police to arrest even without a notice of inquiry.

“The further proceedings and the investigation in Crime No. 205 of 2026 on the file of the D-1 Triplicane Police Station, Chennai in so far as the petitioner concerned shall remain stayed till the next date of hearing,” the order in Mr. Ramesh’s case read. However, pursuant to the filing of identical writ petitions by two more accused, the judges stayed the entire investigation.

Background of the case

The TVK MLA, in his complaint, had claimed he had received a phone call from a particular number on June 26, 2026. The caller identified himself as Thirunavukarasu of a private entity named Indian Political Democratic Strategies (IPDS) involved in conducting political surveys, and insisted upon meeting the MLA in person to discuss an “irresistible offer from an important party.”

However, the MLA reportedly told the caller it would not be possible to meet him in person and asked him to proceed with discussing the issue on the phone. The caller continued to insist on meeting the MLA in person, forcing the latter to end the call. Thereafter, the MLA received several calls from the same number through WhatsApp but the legislator did not pick them up.

Finally, when the MLA picked one of those calls, the caller reportedly told him “the TVK-led government would not last long.” The caller also said there was a plan to move a resolution against Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar and that the MLA would be given ₹35 crore if he agrees to vote against the TVK whip when the resolution gets moved in the House.

The MLA was also told that three others – Naresh, Krishnan, and former DMK Minister and incumbent Coimbatore South MLA V. Senthilbalaji’s brother R.V. Ashok Kumar would meet him if he was agreeable to the deal. When the MLA rejected the offer, the caller threatened him saying he and his family members would have to face the consequences if their conversation gets leaked.

After registering a First Information Report on the basis of the MLA’s complaint, the police had roped in Mr. Senthilbalaji too as one of the accused in the case forcing him as well as his brother to obtain anticipatory bail from the High Court.