The Supreme Court on Thursday, September 26, granted bail to former Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji in connection to a money laundering case linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices Abhay Oka and Augustine George Masih had earlier reserved its judgment and flagged a delay in trial on August 12, 2024. Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Oka observed that stringent bail provisions and delay in trial cannot go together.
“We have referred to Najeeb and other judgements. What we have said is that stringent and higher thresholds of bail and delay in prosecution cannot go together. And therefore we have slightly expanded the scope in Najeeb and bail granted but there are very onerous conditions put in the bail,” Justice Oka said.
What Are The Allegations Against Balaji?
Balaji, a current MLA for Karur, was accused in a money laundering case linked to allegations of his involvement in a cash-for-jobs scam during his tenure as the state’s Transport Minister between 2011 and 2016.
The Enforcement Directorate in June last year arrested Balaji under the charges of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). Later, the DMK leader moved to Madras High Court where he faced a setback. He challenged the denial of bail by the Madra HC before the Supreme Court.
Balaji was accused of carrying out a scheme with his close aides to collect money from the job aspirants in exchange for promises of employment in the Tamil Nadu Transport Department.
Several complaints were filed by the candidates who accused the DMK leader of accepting cash but not offering the promised jobs. Acting on the allegations, the ED filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and proceeded with his arrest in June 2023.
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