‘We grant bail, you become minister next day’: SC raps DMK’s Senthil; to examine fresh plea

Expressing concern over the appointment of DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu Government days after it granted him bail in a money laundering case linked to the cash-for-job scam, the Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine a plea raising apprehensions on independence of witnesses in the case.

“We grant bail and the next day you go and become minister! Anybody will be bound to be under the impression that now with your position as a senior cabinet minister, witnesses will be under pressure. What is this going on...,” a Bench of Justice AS Oka and Justice AG Masih asked senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Balaji.

While hearing a petition filed by one of the complainants seeking cancellation of bail granted to Balaji, the Bench, however, refused to interfere with its September 26 order enlarging the DMK leader on bail. Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14, 2023, in a laundering case.

Noting that it would only examine if witnesses were under pressure, the Bench asked Balaji’s counsel to get instructions on the issue and posted the matter for further hearing on December 13.

“The present application is based on apprehension. The apprehension is based on the fact that immediately after we enlarged the second respondent on bail by the judgment and order dated September 26, 2024, the second respondent has been appointed as a Cabinet Minister of the state. The apprehension is that considering the seriousness of the allegations against the second respondent in the predicate offences, the witnesses may not be in the frame of mind to depose against him,” it said.