Balaji played a “pivotal and central” role, “exploiting” his official capacity as the transport minister for personal gains through corrupt and illegal means, the charge sheet claimed.
The DMK leader said that the ED was unable to identify the ill-gotten sources of income, as there were no other sources of income than the ones disclosed.
Senthil Balaji has been denied bail thrice by the Principal Sessions Court. (Supplied)
On Thursday, 4 January, a sessions court in Chennai extended Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji’s remand till 11 January.
Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, before whom Balaji was produced by the prosecution via video-conferencing from the Puzhal prison, extended his judicial custody.
On Wednesday, Balaji, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last year in a money laundering case, moved the sessions court seeking bail. Judge Alli posted the hearing to 8 January, after ED’s counsel N Ramesh sought time to file a counter affidavit.
In his petition, the DMK leader submitted that the Enforcement Directorate was unable to identify and cannot identify the ill-gotten sources of income as the same remain unavailable or the petitioner has no other source of income than the disclosed one.
Therefore, the agency, without any valid document, could not have proceeded the alleged investigation under PMLA, the petition stated.
However, to make a case under PMLA, the ED has observed that it has reason to believe the said sources of income were purported to have been acquired out of the appointments scam.
Balaji, in the petition, said that his every transaction was a reasoned source of legitimate income and the same has been declared in the financial years and, therefore, the same cannot be treated as ill-gotten money or from an illegitimate source.
Therefore, for the reasons assigned and proof of income of the petitioner, there was every reason to believe that the ED’s case was unlawful and illegal, the petition stated.
Balaji was arrested on 14 June 2023 by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during an earlier AIADMK regime.
The ED arrested Balaji in connection with a money laundering case rooted in the alleged scam. Balaji crossed over to the ruling DMK in 2018.
Soon after his arrest, he underwent a bypass surgery at a private hospital. Later, the ED took him into custody for interrogation and following that he was remanded in judicial custody. His remand was periodically extended by the court.
The ED had, in August 2023, filed a charge sheet, running to 3,000 pages against Balaji. It stated that the entire recruitment process in the Tamil Nadu Transport Department during the tenure of Senthil Balaji as its minister was turned into a “corrupt chiefdom” and the cash-for-jobs scam was executed under his authority.
Balaji played a “pivotal and central” role, “exploiting” his official capacity as the transport minister for personal gains through corrupt and illegal means, the charge sheet claimed.
The Madras High Court had, on 19 October, dismissed the bail petition filed by Balaji. His earlier bail applications were dismissed twice by the Principal Sessions Judge. The court had held that Balaji was likely to influence the witnesses if enlarged on bail.
The Supreme Court, on 28 November, permitted imprisoned Balaji to withdraw his plea for medical bail and approach the trial court for regular bail, observing that the ailment cited by Senthil Balaji is not serious and is, in fact, curable.
(With PTI inputs)
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