Madras High Court Directs Tamil Nadu Government to Respond to Allegations of Incomplete Probe in Vengaivayal Water Contamination Case

Chennai- The Madras High Court on March 27, directed the Tamil Nadu government to submit a detailed reply to allegations that the CID-CB investigation into the Vengaivayal drinking water contamination case was incomplete and biased. The court’s order came during the hearing of a petition filed by advocate V. Marx Ravindran, who has been demanding a CBI probe into the incident, which involved the deliberate mixing of human excreta in an overhead water tank used predominantly by Scheduled Caste (SC) families in Pudukkottai district.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sriram and Justice Mohammed Shafiq, heard arguments from both sides after the CB-CID filed a charge sheet naming three accused persons—Murali Raja, Sudharsan, and Muthukrishnan—all belonging to the SC community. The Additional Advocate General (AAG) Ravindran, representing the state, informed the court that the investigation was complete and that the accused had filed petitions seeking discharge. However, Advocate G.S. Mani, appearing for the petitioner, vehemently opposed this claim, arguing that the CB-CID probe was a sham and that innocent SC youths were being framed to protect the real culprits, who allegedly belong to dominant castes.

Mani contended that it made no logical sense for members of the SC community to contaminate their own drinking water supply, and he accused the police of threatening and coercing villagers into giving false confessions. He cited affidavits from villagers who claimed that police officers had offered government jobs and monetary bribes in exchange for admissions of guilt. The petitioner also highlighted that the one-man commission headed by retired Justice M. Sathyanarayanan, appointed by the High Court in March 2023 to independently investigate the matter, had not yet submitted its report, raising suspicions of deliberate delays.

A Two-Year Struggle for Justice

The Vengaivayal incident dates back to December 25, 2022, when several SC families in the village fell severely ill after consuming water from the overhead tank. Upon inspection, human excreta was found floating in the tank, leading to widespread outrage. A FIR was registered under Sections 277 (fouling water) and 328 (causing hurt by poison) of the IPC, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Initially handled by local police, the case was later transferred to the CID-CB in January 2023 following protests alleging a cover-up. However, activists and victims’ families have consistently accused the CID-CB of failing to conduct a fair investigation. They allege that instead of probing dominant caste individuals suspected of involvement, the police targeted SC youths, pressuring them to confess.

Petitioner’s Explosive Allegations

In his counter-affidavit, Marx Ravindran made several damning claims:

• Police coercion: Villagers were repeatedly summoned to the police station, threatened, and even taken to temples to swear false confessions. One of the accused, Murali Raja (a policeman himself), was allegedly offered a promotion to Sub-Inspector if he admitted guilt. When he refused, he was transferred to a distant location as punishment.

• Fabricated motives: The CB-CID’s charge sheet suggested that the accused contaminated the water due to a dispute over a village water tank operator’s job, but the petitioner proved that the said operator did not even work in Vengaivayal, rendering the motive baseless.

• Restricted access: Police barred outsiders, including activists and journalists, from entering the village and speaking to affected families, raising concerns of a state-enforced information blackout.

While the court observed that there was no immediate evidence to prove investigative lapses, it directed the state to respond to the petitioner’s allegations before the next hearing on June 12, 2025. The judges also noted that even if a charge sheet is filed, a case can still be transferred to another agency if there are doubts about fairness, as seen in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy case, where the High Court later ordered a CBI probe despite a CB-CID charge sheet.

Why This Case Matters

The Vengaivayal incident has become a flashpoint in Tamil Nadu’s caste politics, with activists alleging that the state machinery is shielding dominant caste perpetrators to avoid social unrest. The prolonged delay in the one-man commission’s report and the CB-CID’s controversial charge sheet have deepened distrust among the SC community, who see this as a test of whether Dalits can get justice in caste-based crimes.