An Indian court has ordered an investigation into allegations that a newly opened public library in Tamil Nadu purchased hundreds of books suspected of being AI-generated or containing fabricated information.

The controversy centres on Periyar Arivulagam, a seven-storey library and science centre in Coimbatore, inaugurated on October 16 by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay.

The allegations emerged after Tamil novelist Perumal Murugan raised concerns about nearly 1,800 books in the library’s Tamil section, reportedly supplied by a little-known publisher, Agal Vilakku Pathippagam.

Murugan questioned the authorship, pricing and authenticity of several books, some of which allegedly contained inaccurate information and questionable International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs).

One disputed publication reportedly described Naladiyar, a classical Tamil literary work comprising 400 four-line verses on morality and ethics, as the name of a poet and philosopher.

Another book allegedly attributed the ancient Tamil poem Madurai Kanchi to an incorrect author. However, it remains unclear whether AI was used to produce the disputed publications.

The Madras High Court has directed the state’s anti-corruption agency to investigate the purchases and freeze bank accounts linked to the publisher.

Tamil Nadu’s School Education Minister A Rajmohan has described the allegations as potentially “India’s first AI scam”, adding that the investigation would extend to public libraries across the state.

Authorities have also removed 523 books from Chennai’s historic Connemara Public Library following preliminary checks over their authenticity and quality. Disputed publications have also been withdrawn from Periyar Arivulagam.

The controversy has widened after a book found at another public library in Madurai listed renowned economist Jean Drèze as its author. Drèze has denied writing the book, Democracy and People’s Rights in the Contemporary World, raising concerns that his name may have been used without permission.

More than 160 writers, researchers, artists and publishers have called for an independent inquiry, the disclosure of procurement records and an audit of public library collections across Tamil Nadu.

The state government has blamed the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led administration for the purchases, while the DMK has rejected the allegations as politically motivated and called for an investigation.

The library, named after social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy, was built at a cost of around 3 billion rupees ($34 million).