AIADMK has filed a case in the Madras High Court challenging Senthil Balaji continuing as a minister in the MK Stalin Cabinet.
ED alleges that Balaji "misused" his office for illegal gratification and "engineered" a job racket scam in the state transport undertakings during 2014-15. (Supplied)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji illegally and in “breach of his fundamental rights”, Senior Advocate NR Elango submitted before the Madras High Court on Thursday, 22 June.
Arguing before a bench of Justice J Nisha Banu and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, Elango said the ED had not issued any notice to Balaji before his arrest, and breached Section 41A of the CrPC.
Elango, a Rajya Sabha member of the DMK, was appearing for Balaji’s wife S Megala, who has moved a habeas corpus petition in the high court.
Citing several Supreme Court judgements, the senior advocate contended that the sessions court committed a “grave illegality” in sending Balaji to ED’s custody, despite the high court clarifying that he should be in judicial custody.
Elango submitted that unlike the Customs Act or the GST Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, did not confer the powers of a station house officer on any ED official to claim custody of an arrested person.
Pointing out the Anupam J Kulkarni case (SC 1992), Elango argued that no investigating agency could be allowed to subject a person to custodial interrogation beyond 15 days from the date of arrest, irrespective of any reason, be it a tsunami or a pandemic.
He requested the court not to consider the ED’s plea to exclude Balaji’s hospitalisation period from the period for which it was granted custody.
Balaji was arrested early on 14 June and was immediately rushed to a hospital after he complained of chest pain. The minister underwent a coronary bypass surgery at Chennai’s Kauvery Hospital on 21 June.
Elango also submitted that, to date, the details of what transpired when the minister was in the ED’s custody between 11.30 pm on 13 June and 1.39 am on 14 June has not been revealed even to the sessions court.
Objecting to the arguments advanced by the petitioner, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the ED, contended that they were beyond the scope of the habeas corpus petition and requested the court to adjourn the matter to another date for his submission.
Accepting the plea, the bench adjourned the case to 27 June.
Meanwhile, the eight days custody of Balaji the principal sessions court had granted to the ED would end on Friday, 23 June. It was unclear whether the minister would be produced before the court through video conferencing for an extension of the remand.
Doctors attending to Balaji said he has been in the post-operative intensive care unit (ICU) and under medical monitoring.
Though the sessions court had granted the ED the custody of Balaji, the central agency did not take him into custody. On 20 June, when the ED approached the sessions court to surrender Balaji’s custody, Judge Alli refused to entertain the plea, citing the matter pending before the high court.
Meanwhile, the AIADMK moved the high court challenging Balaji’s continuation as a minister in the MK Stalin-led Cabinet.
Balaji, who was the minister of electricity, prohibition, and excise, was made a minister without portfolio soon after his arrest.
In his petition, J Jayavardhan, son of AIADMK leader D Jayakumar, stated that Balaji was arrested on charges of money laundering and that retaining him in the Cabinet would threaten the witnesses.
He submitted that Balaji was continuing in the Cabinet even after being remanded in judicial custody. It would set a wrong precedent and Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi has not given his assent for Balaji’s continuation.
The case would be listed for hearing in a few days.
The AIADMK held a statewide protest on 21 June, demanding the ouster of Balaji from the Cabinet.
Incidentally, Balaji was the transport minister in the late J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK ministry when the alleged cash-for-jobs scam occurred in 2014-15. The ED arrested him now in that case.
On 16 June, while approving the handing over of the portfolios Balaji had held to ministers Thangam Thennrasu and Muthusamy, Governor Ravi refused to agree to his continuation in the Cabinet.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami defended Ravi’s directive to remove Balaji from the cabinet.
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