Madras High Court Orders Probe into Alleged AI-Generated Fake Books Scandal in Tamil Nadu

A newly established public library in India's Tamil Nadu state has come under scrutiny over allegations that hundreds of fake and substandard books, allegedly generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), were purchased at inflated prices.

Questions have been raised over the authorship, accuracy and pricing of the books. The Madras High Court has ordered the state's anti-corruption agency to investigate the allegations and directed authorities to freeze the bank account of a publishing company involved in supplying the books. BBC reported the development.

The controversy centres on book purchases for the Periyar Arivulagam Library in Coimbatore, built at a cost of around 3 billion rupees. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay inaugurated the facility on October 16.

The issue gained attention after renowned Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan visited the library and raised concerns about its collection.

In an article published in an online magazine, Murugan alleged that the library's Tamil-language section contained around 1,800 books from a little-known publishing house named Agal Vilakku Pathippagam. He questioned the unfamiliar authors' names, unusually high prices and suspicious ISBN numbers found in the publications.

One of the controversial titles is Naladiyar Vazhkaiyin Vazikatti, a 300-page book credited to an author named Surya Balu and priced at 1,445 rupees.

The book reportedly describes Naladiyar as a Tamil poet and philosopher. However, Naladiyar is actually a collection of 400 four-line moral verses traditionally attributed to Jain monks.

Another book identifies a king named Madurai Kuzhathip Peruvaluthi as the author of Madurai Kanchi, although the recognised author of the classical Tamil work is the poet Mangudi Maruthanar.

Other allegations include the addition of unauthentic stories under the name of poet Subramania Bharati and inaccurate information about M Karunanidhi, identified in the books as Tamil Nadu's first chief minister.

Names appearing as authors in the disputed publications include Trisha Vijay, Vijay Adithan, Monika Surya, Monika Ravi, Jyoti Saravanan and Manisha Saravanan.

Questions have also emerged over a book titled Democracy and People's Rights in the Contemporary World, published under the name of economist Jean Drèze at another government library in Madurai. Drèze has denied writing the book, which was published by Phoenix Publishing House.

Another company, Phoenix Publishers, has also been accused of supplying around 100 books.

Attempts to verify the addresses of the publishing companies reportedly found no operating offices at their listed locations in Chennai. Mohan, the owner of Agal Vilakku, acknowledged that the company was supposed to operate from the address but declined to comment, citing the ongoing court proceedings.

More than 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have called for an independent investigation, disclosure of book procurement records and an audit of collections across all state-run libraries. They have also demanded the recovery of public funds if financial irregularities are established.

Murugan has separately called for the removal of the disputed books and an impartial investigation into those involved in purchasing and supplying them.

Tamil Nadu's Education Minister A Rajmohan described the incident as India's first 'AI scandal'. He said questionable books had also been removed from the Periyar Arivulagam Library.

Following an initial review, 523 books were removed from Chennai's historic Connemara Public Library. Authorities are also examining book procurement procedures at other libraries across the state.