The Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed the bail plea lodged by former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested last year by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case.
Dismissing the bail plea, Justice N Anand Venkatesh noted that Senthil Balaji had been in prison for almost eight months. He further directed the special court to conduct the trial on a day to day basis, aiming to complete it within three months.
The Madras High Court stated that the bail application was devoid of merits and that it made more sense for the former minister to instead go before the special court for trial. V Senthil Balaji had also challenged the prosecution materials and alleged that the materials had been tampered with by the agency.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate argued that the court could not venture into a mini trial at the stage of considering bail and even if Balaji had resigned from his ministerial post, he was still an MLA and could influence the witnesses. The investigation agency also stressed that Balaji had committed a crime against the society and by favouring some candidates, the level playing field of the other candidates was affected thus violating their rights under Article 14 of the Constitution.
The Madras High Court rejected V Senthil Balaji’s contention of evidence tampering and remarked that the investigation agency had relied upon the documents that were already present in the predicate offense and based on which the final report had been filed which was never questioned by Balaji. The High Court added that the investigating agency had even received certified copies of the documents from the court which added authenticity.
To DMK leader Balaji’s submission that he was no longer a Minister, the court noted that his continuation as a Minister without portfolio for 8 months even after his arrest showed his influence and backing from the ruling party. The court observed that Balaji was still an influential person and there was a possibility of influencing the witnesses, especially considering that Balaji had already attempted to compromise the predicate offense.
Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram, appearing for the former minister, had earlier submitted that the Enforcement Directorate had already completed its investigation in the case and had all the documents and evidence it needed. He added that therefore, Balaji’s custody was not required further. Special Public Prosecutor N Ramesh opposed the bail application.
The former DMK Minister was arrested on June 14 after undergoing questioning by the ED in a money laundering case. The charges are from the time of his tenure as transport minister for the AIADMK government from 2011 to 2015.