The Supreme Court docket on Monday expressed concern over reinstatement of DMK chief V Senthil Balaji as Cupboard minister in Tamil Nadu simply days after it granted bail within the cash laundering case associated to the cash-for-job rip-off, and agreed to look at a plea elevating apprehensions on independence of witnesses within the case.
“We granted you bail and days after you go and turn out to be minister. Anyone will probably be sure to be below the impression that now together with your place as a senior cupboard minister, witnesses will probably be below stress. What is that this occurring?” a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih requested senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, showing for Balaji.
The bench, nevertheless, refused to intervene with the September 26 order of the apex court docket granting bail to Balaji on a plea filed by one of many complainants searching for its cancellation.
The bench made it clear it will not recall the order because the regulation laid down by the highest court docket was benefitting a number of different individuals.
Justice Oka additional stated the court docket wouldn’t challenge any discover within the matter however restrict the scope of enquiry as to whether the witnesses could be “below stress” to depose within the case.
“The apprehension is that contemplating the seriousness of allegations in opposition to the second respondent (Balaji) within the predicate offences, the witnesses might not be within the state of mind to depose in opposition to the second respondent who’s holding the place of Cupboard minister.
“That is the one side on which prima facie we’re inclined to contemplate the appliance, and whereas making it clear that there isn’t any purpose to intervene with the judgement on deserves and adjudication of the appliance stays confined to the aforesaid,” the bench wrote in its order.
It then requested Balaji’s counsel Ram Sankar to get directions and posted the matter for additional listening to on December 13.
The bench famous that the present plea, filed by one of many complainants Ok Vidhya Kumar, was primarily based on the apprehension that instantly after the grant of bail Balaji was appointed a cupboard minister.
On October 25, the highest court docket in one other matter associated to Balaji was knowledgeable {that a} petition searching for overview of an order of bail to the DMK chief within the case had been filed.
The highest court docket granted bail Balaji after he was in jail over 15 months, noting there was no chance of the completion of trial within the close to future.
On September 30, the highest court docket directed the Madras Excessive Court docket chief justice to nominate one other choose for the trial in opposition to Balaji.
Balaji, 48, was sworn in as a minister by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on September 29 and was assigned the identical key portfolios — electrical energy, non-conventional vitality improvement, prohibition and excise — he held beforehand within the Stalin Cupboard.
The Enforcement Directorate(ED) arrested Balaji, representing Karur meeting constituency, on June 14, 2023 within the case when he was the transport minister through the earlier AIADMK regime between 2011 and 2015.
On February 13, the TN Governor accepted Balaji’s resignation from the council of ministers. The highest court docket’s reprieve on September 26 ended Balaji’s 471-day incarceration.
The ED had filed a case of cash laundering in July 2021 to probe the allegations after three FIRs had been registered by the Tamil Nadu police in 2018 and on the idea of complaints by these aggrieved within the alleged rip-off.
The company’s chargesheet claimed your complete recruitment course of within the Tamil Nadu transport division through the tenure of Balaji as minister was changed into a “corrupt chiefdom”, and the rip-off was executed below his authority.
Being a public servant, Balaji “misused” his official capability because the then transport minister and obtained pecuniary advantages by corrupt and unlawful means and straight acquired the proceeds of crime, generated out of a prison exercise associated to a scheduled offence, the company alleged.