Supreme Court Refuses To Appoint Special Public Prosecutor For Senthil Balaji's Trial, Asks Why TN Governor Took 7 Months To Grant Sanction

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to appoint a Special Public Prosecutor for the trial of former Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji in corruption case arising out of the cash of jobs allegations.

A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih bench stated that as of now, there is no material on record suggesting that the current Public Prosecutor is not competent enough.

“When Public Prosecutors are appointed to deal with prosecutions against Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly, pending before the Special Courts constituted under the orders of this Court, we are sure that the concerned Public Prosecutors are aware about the nature of the responsibilities entrusted to them. Perhaps, the burden on them is greater as the trials before the Special Courts dealing with the cases of Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly, are being monitored by this Court. The Prosecutor has to act as an officer of the Court”, the Court remarked, refusing to consider the request of certain victims of the scam seeking appointment of an SPP.

Tamil Nadu Government filed an affidavit outlining the qualifications and experience of the Public Prosecutor P Washington Dhanasekaran of the MP/MLA court in Chennai which is conducting the trial.

On the previous date, the Supreme Court had directed the State to submit all applications and correspondence with the Governor's office regarding the sanction to prosecute Balaji for corruption.

On Monday, the Court was informed that the sanction to prosecute Balaji was granted on August 23, 2024. “We have perused the additional affidavit filed by the concerned Secretary of the State Government stating that in all three cases, proposal for grant of sanction to prosecute V. Senthil Balaji was submitted to the office of the Hon'ble Governor on 4th January, 2024. We were wondering why such a long time of 07 months was required to deal with the proposal for sanction”, the Court remarked.

The Court directed the trial court to submit a detailed report on the status of the cases against Balaji. The report should include information about other cases pending in the court. The Court directed the Registrar (Judicial) to forward a copy of this order to the Assistant Sessions Judge, who is to submit the report in a sealed envelope before the next hearing.

The Court scheduled the matter for further hearing on September 30, 2024, after receiving the report from the Assistant Sessions Judge.

Background

Senthil Balaji, who served as the Minister in the Tamil Nadu government's transport department from 2011 to 2016, is accused of orchestrating a scheme with his personal assistants and brother to collect money in exchange for promising job opportunities in the department.

Several complaints were filed by candidates who paid money but did not secure employment. Balaji is booked under Section 420 (cheating) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, as well as Sections 7 (public servant taking a bribe), 12 (abetment), and 13 (misconduct of a public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The ED also registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) arising out of the corruption case (predicate offence) and arrested Balaji in June 2023. The Madras High Court denied him bail but directed the Special Court to complete the trial within three months. Balaji then approached the Supreme Court which recently reserved its judgment.

Case no. – IA in Miscellaneous Application No. 1381/2024 in Crl.A. No. 1677/2023

Case Title – Y. Balaji v. Assistant Commissioner of Police Central Crime Branch (Job Racketing) & Anr.

Citation : 2024 LiveLaw (SC) 652