Madras HC restrains police from arresting ex-Ministers Rajenthra Balaji and Saroja

Justice M Nirmal Kumar granted relief on hearing the separate pleas by the former ministers seeking anticipatory bails. 

Former Milk and Dairy Development Minister Rajenthra Balaji submitted that the district crime branch filed cases against him on complaints preferred by S Raveendran and Vijay Nallathambi. 

The duo alleged that the former minister and his associates had taken Rs 3 crore from several people promising jobs in the Aavin department in the government.

“The complainants have the habit of cheating people by using honey words to get the job in the government departments past 20 years and facing criminal cases for that,” Rajenthra Balaji submitted through his counsel.

Hasan Mohamed Jinnah, State Public Prosecutor, argued that the court should not grant the advance bail to Rajenthra Balaji since he has been facing murder attempt cases along with this cheating case.

In the case of Saroja, the Namakkal district crime branch had filed cases against her for cheating people by taking Rs 76.50 lakh promising noon-meal organisers’ jobs in the government.

“When Saroja was a minister for the Social Welfare department, she received Rs 26.50 lakh. Her husband had collected Rs 76.50 lakh from various persons on a promise offering noon-meal organiser posts. They neither offered the job nor returned the money,” Gunasekaran, the complainant said.

Denying the charges, the petitioners contended that enmity between the complainant’s family and the former minister’s family led Gunasekaran to file a complaint. 

“The de-facto complainant has preferred the above-said case with an ulterior motive to harass the petitioners. The appointment of noon-meal organisers was made purely based on merit by the district collectors,” Saroja submitted. The public prosecutor submitted that he would file a counter in this matter.

On recording the submissions, the HC posted the matter to November 24 and asked the police not to take any action against the ministers until the next hearing.