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Chennai court issues ED charge sheet copy to Balaji
Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji has been served a copy of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and his judicial custody has been extended till September 15. The DMK-supported minister was arrested in June on charges of money laundering.
Chennai: A special court in Chennai on Monday served a copy of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji after the agency had arrested him on June 14. The court also extended his judicial custody till September 15.
Balaji was brought from the Puzhal prison and produced before Special Judge K Ravi.
The central agency had on August 12 filed the prosecution complaint of about 3,000 pages that included more than 2,000 pages of annexures and 168-170 pages of operational documents, arraigning Balaji as an accused.
With the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) throwing their weight behind him, he remains a minister without a portfolio in the M K Stalin-led cabinet.
Balaji was taken back to the central prison following the hearing. The court has said that he can join via video-conferencing from the next hearing onwards and also directed him to file his bail petition to the Principal Sessions judge, since the special court cannot decide on the matter, people familiar with the development said.
The special judge had on August 25, directed the jail authorities to produce him before the court physically.
From the time he was arrested, Balaji had been hospitalised for chest pains, initially, at a government hospital and he was later shifted to the private hospital for a heart surgery.
From the time he was arrested, Balaji had been hospitalised for chest pains, initially, at a government hospital and he was later shifted to the private hospital for a heart surgery. After a third judge in the Madras high court on July 15 dismissed a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by his wife, S Megala, to declare his arrest illegal. The minister was jailed on July 17.
The third judge C V Karthikeyan was appointed to examine a split verdict pronounced by a two-day bench earlier in the HCP and the Supreme Court had urged the high court to dispose of the case fast.
Balaji was arrested by the ED on charges of money laundering in a case dating back to 2014 when he was transport minister in the previous All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regime. He joined the DMK in 2018 and was made minister for electricity, prohibition and excise.
(With inputs from agencies)
