Ex-Tamil Nadu min Senthil Balaji denied bail by HC in money laundering case

Senthil Balaji was arrested in June 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a probe linked to alleged cash-for-jobs scam when he was a minister in an earlier AIADMK regime

The Madras High Court, on Wednesday, denied bail to former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in the ongoing money laundering probe against him. The court had reserved an order on Balaji's bail plea last week.

The HC dismissed Balaji's earlier bail plea on October 19, 2023.

What is the case against Senthil Balaji?

Balaji was arrested in June 2023 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a probe linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam when he was a minister in an earlier All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regime.

He served as a minister in the MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu government, however, his resignation was accepted by the governor on February 14.

His resignation followed as the High Court observed that it did not augur well that Balaji continued to be a minister even after eight months of his arrest.

The case is linked to Balaji's tenure as the transport minister in the AIADMK government in 2014.

High-voltage drama on Balaji's arrest in Tamil Nadu

Notably, his arrest had led to high-voltage political drama in the state as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader had to be hospitalised due to chest pains, following which he also underwent a heart surgery. He had complained of uneasiness during the ED interrogation before his arrest.

Balaji held the portfolios of the electricity, prohibition and excise departments in the Stalin government. The former AIADMK minister had joined the DMK in 2018. He was among the 18 rebel MLAs who were expelled from the AIADMK for extending support to expelled leader T T V Dinakaran, the nephew of sidelined leader V K Sasikala.