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Supreme Court to hear TN minister Senthil Balaji’s bail plea on October 30
Senthil Balaji is a minister without any portfolio in the current Tamil Nadu government led by chief minister MK Stalin
The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to take up the bail petition filed by Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji on October 30, hours after the Madras high court dismissed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader’s plea.
A bench headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul passed the order after Balaji’s counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, requested an urgent mentioning of the matter. The leader is facing a probe in the cash-for-jobs scam which allegedly took place during his tenure as the transport minister in the AIADMK-led government from 2011-15.
Rohatgi said Balaji was denied bail in the morning by a single judge bench of the Madras HC, which refused to let him out on medical grounds. He informed the apex court that an appeal against the order had already been filed.
The bench, also comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Manoj Misra, directed the matter to be listed on October 30 before the appropriate bench. “This is how technology comes to your assistance.”
Balaji is a minister without any portfolio in the current Tamil Nadu government led by chief minister MK Stalin. He was arrested in June in connection with the money laundering case probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
He had undergone bypass surgery soon after his arrest and recently complained of post-operative symptoms of numbness in legs and back. He sought bail on this ground from the Madras HC as he apprehended health complications owing to his heart ailment.
High court justice G Jayachandran rejected the bail as he found that the medical condition of the minister did not appear to be such that required to be taken care only by releasing him on bail as it could be treated while in custody. The minister claimed that he required continuous physiotherapy for his condition.
The HC also considered other factors such as his powerful position being a minister, his brother Ashok Kumar still absconding in the case, along with related facts involving attack on income tax officials to deny bail.
“All (factors) cumulatively lead to an irresistible conclusion that appellant (Balaji) will directly and indirectly influence or cause deterrence to witnesses, if released on bail,” the HC said.
The top court had on August 8 allowed the ED to have custody of the minister while rejecting his petition on grounds that the period of police custody was no longer available to the federal agency.
