Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji’s bail plea rejected a third time by Chennai court

Senthil Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the Puzhal Central Prison.

Also Read: Charges to be framed against Senthil Balaji on 22 January 

Background 

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)