'Terribly wrong' to appoint Senthilbalaji as minister after he got bail: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said it was "terribly wrong" to appoint DMK leader V Senthilbalaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government days after he was granted bail in a money laundering case over the cash-for-job "scam".

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said a large number of witnesses were public officials and sought response of the state government on the pending cases against Balaji.

"It can't be axiomatic that the moment a person is released he becomes a minister, there is something terribly wrong. Because there maybe cases and cases where somebody is being framed. In the facts of the case we will have to consider," it remarked.

The bench further sought the "record on the number of witnesses which are required to be examined in the cases".

"They will also state how many victims of the offences are witnesses and how many of the public servants who are witnesses", said the bench.

The apex court had perused the details of the pending trials and found that common people from whom money was taken were all witnesses apart from public officials.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, submitted that Balaji wielded "considerable influence".

"Even while he was in jail, he was minister without portfolio. He wields that power in the state," Mehta said.

Responding to his submission, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Balaji, said, "There are a lot of people who have a lot of power in any state and here who are without portfolio."

"It is not a political platform. Let it remain a court," responded Mehta.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted most prosecution witnesses were public servants in the state government.

The matter was posted on January 15, 2025.

The ED alleged Balaji has deliberately attempted to delay trial court proceedings in the money laundering case related to the case in which the top court granted him bail.

In an affidavit filed on a petition by one of the victims, the ED sought cancellation of bail of Balaji, who was sworn in as a minister by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi again on September 29 and was assigned the same key portfolios -- electricity, non-conventional energy development, prohibition and excise -- he held previously in the MK Stalin-led cabinet.

The ED said since release of Balaji from jail, the ongoing examination of prosecution witnesses in the case was derailed on account of him moving applications seeking copies of digital records and seeking change of counsel in the midst of trial.

On October 25, the top court in another matter related to Balaji was informed that a petition seeking review of an order of bail to the DMK leader in the case had been filed.

The top court on September 30, directed the Madras High Court chief justice to appoint another judge for the trial against Balaji.

The ED arrested Balaji, representing Karur assembly constituency, on June 14, 2023 in the case when he was the transport minister during the previous AIADMK regime between 2011 and 2015.

On February 13, the TN governor accepted Balaji's resignation from the council of ministers. The top court's reprieve on September 26 ended Balaji's 471-day incarceration.

The ED had filed a case of money laundering in July 2021 to probe the allegations after three FIRs were registered by the Tamil Nadu police in 2018 and on the basis of complaints by those aggrieved in the alleged scam.

The agency's charge sheet claimed the entire recruitment process in the Tamil Nadu transport department during the tenure of Balaji as minister was turned into a "corrupt chiefdom", and the scam was executed under his authority.

Being a public servant, Balaji "misused" his official capacity as the then transport minister and obtained pecuniary benefits by corrupt and illegal means and directly acquired the proceeds of crime, generated out of a criminal activity related to a scheduled offence, the agency alleged.