The Madras High Court has ordered an investigation into suspected AI-generated books bought for Tamil Nadu public libraries, BBC News reports, after concerns about false information and authorship at Coimbatore’s new Periyar Arivulagam.
New Indian mega library faces scrutiny over disputed books
Built at a cost of about 3bn rupees (£26m; $34m), Periyar Arivulagam was inaugurated in Coimbatore on 16 October 2026 by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.
Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan raised concerns after visiting the library, alleging that nearly 1,800 Tamil-language books came from little-known publisher Agal Vilakku Pathippagam.
The court has ordered Tamil Nadu’s anti-corruption agency to investigate the purchases and freeze bank accounts linked to the publisher accused of supplying the books.
Questionable authorship raises AI-generated book concerns
The disputed books reportedly carried unfamiliar authors’ names, unusually high prices and questionable International Standard Book Numbers, raising questions about the selection process.
One title, Naladiyar Vaazhvin Vazhikatti, reportedly cost 1,445 rupees for 300 pages and described Naladiyar as a Tamil poet and philosopher.
Naladiyar is a classical Tamil work comprising 400 four-line verses on morality and ethics, while another book reportedly gave the wrong author for Madurai Kanchi.
The evidence does not establish that artificial intelligence produced the disputed books, although such tools can generate complete texts while introducing false references and factual errors.
Tamil Nadu orders audit of public library collections
Tamil Nadu’s government has blamed the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led administration for buying the books, while the DMK denies the allegations.
School Education Minister A Rajmohan described the allegations as potentially “India’s first AI scam” and said investigations would examine purchases at other public libraries across the state.
An internal audit has been ordered, while Rajmohan said 523 books had already been removed from Chennai’s historic Connemara Public Library after preliminary checks raised concerns.
Writers demand records and independent investigation
More than 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have called for an independent inquiry, the release of procurement records and an audit of Tamil Nadu’s library collections.
Their joint statement seeks recovery of public money if investigators find that funds were misused, and questions how disputed titles passed expert committees, price negotiations and several review stages.
A separate book at a Madurai public library named economist Jean Drèze as its author; The Hindu reported that Drèze said he had not written it.
BBC Tamil visited addresses listed for Agal Vilakku and Phoenix Publishing House, finding no business signs; Agal Vilakku proprietor Mohan declined comment, saying the matter was before the courts.
The court investigation, state audit and requested procurement disclosures will establish whether the disputed books involved inaccurate publishing, unauthorised attribution, misuse of funds or AI-generated material.
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