The Madras High Court rejected the bail plea of former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in a money laundering case filed by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Wednesday. Balaji, who has been in jail for eight months, had his bail petition dismissed by Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court. The Principal Sessions Court has been instructed to conclude the hearing within three months, but Balaji’s request was denied due to “no change in the circumstances.”
Balaji was arrested by the ED on June 14 last year and has been in judicial custody since then. Earlier attempts to secure bail, including a plea in the Madras High Court on October 19, 2023, and petitions in a local court on September 20 last year and the Chennai Sessions court on January 12 this year, were unsuccessful.
The former minister was arrested in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam during his tenure as the TN Transport Minister in the previous AIADMK government. The case stems from allegations dating back to his time as transport minister in Jayalalithaa’s Cabinet from 2011 to 2015.
Three FIRs were filed against Balaji by local police in 2018, leading to the registration of an Enforcement Case Information Register (ECIR) by the ED. Despite joining the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in December 2018 and assuming office as the electricity minister after the party’s victory in May 2021, Balaji’s legal troubles continue.