Major setback for Senthil Balaji as Madras HC upholds probe agency’s right to arrest DMK minister

The Madras High Court has upheld the Enforcement Directorate custody of jailed DMK leader Senthil Balaji. The court said the time spent by Balaji in a hospital will be excluded from the custody period.  

In a setback for Senthil Balaji, the Madras High Court on Friday upheld the Enforcement Directorate’s right to take the DMK leader into custody. The court's decision was announced during the hearing of Senthil Balaji's wife Megala's habeas corpus request. The former Tamil Nadu minister for energy was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), according to the defence.

According to the Madras High Court's ruling, the DMK leader cannot be released because his detention was lawful even after the remand order was issued.

After a two-judge bench made up of Justices Nisha Banu and D Bharatha Chakravarthy disagreed on the release of the DMK leader, the case was brought before Justice CV Karthikeyan. A divided decision had been issued earlier this month by the two-judge panel.

The Enforcement Directorate had arrested V Senthil Balaji in June after conducting searches at premises linked to him in connection with a money laundering case. Senthil Balaji was arrested after a long session of questioning under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) into a cash-for-jobs scam.

Subsequently, Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi dismissed V Senthil Balaji from the state cabinet.

"In several examples of corruption, including accepting cash in exchange for jobs and money laundering, Minister Senthil Balaji is subject to significant criminal proceedings. He has influenced the inquiry and obstructed the due process of law and justice by abusing his position as a minister," the Governor said in a statement.