TN Minister Senthil Balaji Approaches Supreme Court Against Madras HC Order Allowing ED Custody
Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court's judgment holding that the Directorate of Enforcement is entitled to take him into custody in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam.As per the details available in the Supreme Court website, Balaji's special leave petition was filed at 3.35 PM on July 17. Last Friday (July 14), the...
Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court's judgment holding that the Directorate of Enforcement is entitled to take him into custody in connection with the cash-for-jobs scam.
As per the details available in the Supreme Court website, Balaji's special leave petition was filed at 3.35 PM on July 17. Last Friday (July 14), the third judge of the Madras High Court had ruled in favour of the ED, holding that the central agency is entitled to seek police custody of an accused in a money laundering case. The matter was referred to the third judge Justice CV Karthikeyan following a split in the division bench of Justices Nisha Banu and Bharatha Chakravarthy. Deciding a habeas corpus petition filed by Balaji's wife Megala, Justice Banu had held that Enforcement Directorate is not entrusted with the powers to seek police custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Differing from this opinion, Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy had held that the Habeas Corpus Petition is not maintainable and the ED was entitled to police custody of the accused.
Justice Karthikeyan endorsed the view of Justice Chakravarthy by saying : "The fact that respondents(ED) can take custody for further investigation cannot be denied. The respondent, in this case, had a right to get custody. I would align my opinion with the reason given by Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy in this aspect". Justice Karthikeyana also agreed with Justice Chakravarthy in holding that the habeas corpus petition in the instant case was not maintainable as there was no illegality in the arrest of Balaji.
Balaji, the Minister of Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, was arrested by the ED on June 15 in connection with a cash-for-jobs scam relating back to his term as Transport Minister during the 2011-16 AIADMK government. The arrest followed an order of the Supreme Court in May which set aside a direction of the Madras High Court staying the proceedings in the money laundering case against him.
On the very day of the arrest, his wife filed a habeas corpus petition before the High Court contending that the arrest and detention was illegal. The High Court denied him interim bail but allowed him to be shifted to a private hospital named Cauvery Hospital after he complained of chest pain. He underwent heart surgery at the hospital while under judicial custody. Although the ED approached the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court's order entertaining the habeas petition, the Top Court refused to interfere and decided to await the final decision of the High Court.