New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed surprise at the fact that: V. Senthil Balaji Immediately upon his appointment, he was appointed Minister of Tamil Nadu bail. The court said it would look into the issue of witnesses feeling threatened following the move.
However, Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih did not revoke the bail verdict.
“We grant bail and the next day you go and become a minister! Anyone would have the impression that now you are a senior cabinet minister and the witnesses will be under pressure. What happened?” Justice Oka asked.
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea seeking to quash the September 26 verdict granting bail to Balaji on the grounds that witnesses would be under pressure after Balaji was appointed as a minister after his release.
The judge said he would not quash the verdict but would limit the investigation to whether the witness was under pressure.
It asked Balaji’s lawyers to obtain instructions and posted the matter till December 13.
“The concern is that given the seriousness of the charges against the second defendant (Balaji) for the predicate offenses, the witnesses may not be in the mood to testify against the second defendant who holds the position of a cabinet minister… This prima facie See, this is the only aspect of the application which we are inclined to consider while making it clear that there is no reason to interfere with the decision on the merits and the decision on the application remains limited to the above,” the Supreme Court said.
Despite finding that Balaji had a prima facie case, the Supreme Court granted Balaji bail, citing his lengthy incarceration (from June 2023) and the fact that the trial was unlikely to begin soon.
The Court also held that the requirement for a speedy trial must be read as a condition in the special statute imposing strict bail conditions.
Shortly after his release, Balaji was sworn in as chief minister StalinCabinet, responsible for matters such as electricity, development, prohibition and consumption of unconventional energy sources.
Balaji was arrested on June 14, 2023, in connection with a money laundering case related to a cash-for-job scam when he was transport minister during the earlier AIADMK regime.
The ED arrested Balaji in connection with an Enforcement Case Information Register (ECIR) filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2021.
The ECIR was registered based on three FIRs lodged against him by the local police in 2018, alleging his involvement in a cash-for-job case in 2015 when he was transport minister in Jayalalithaa’s cabinet.
