SC drops bail cancellation proceedings against Senthil Balaji after he resigns as TN minister

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday disposed of an application seeking recall of its decision which had enlarged DMK leader and former Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji on bail in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged cash-for-jobs scam.

A Raj Bhavan communique accepting the resignation of Balaji, who was Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise in Tamil Nadu government, was placed before a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and A.G. Masih.

The Justice Oka-led Bench on April 23 told the senior DMK leader to choose between his ministerial post and bail in the money laundering case, as it dealt with an application claiming that Balaji may influence the case witnesses in his capacity as a minister.

It had cautioned Balaji that if he did not step down from his minister post, it would recall its bail order, noting that the top court had made a mistake by ignoring the previous judgments against him.

“We are giving him a choice. Freedom or post? [T]he judgment of the Madras High Court records how, as a minister, you tried to influence witnesses by entering into a settlement with them, based on which proceedings were quashed,” the bench had said.

The Supreme Court had asked Balaji, who was immediately inducted into the Tamil Nadu Cabinet after he was granted bail, to decide by April 28 whether he preferred his liberty or his minister post.

Following the top court’s ultimatum, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday recommended the Governor to accept the resignation of Balaji and to reallocate his portfolios to other ministers.

“The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has recommended to the Governor of Tamil Nadu to accept the resignation of V. Senthil Balaji, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, and Dr K. Ponmudy, Minister for Forests and Khadi. The Governor has approved the recommendation,” read a Raj Bhavan communique issued.

It added that Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar has been given the additional portfolio of Electricity, while Housing and Urban Development Minister S. Muthusamy has now been designated as the Minister for Housing and Prohibition & Excise.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had, on June 14, 2023, raided Balaji’s house and other places in Chennai, Karur, and Coimbatore and interrogated him about a job for a cash scam while he served as the Transport Minister in the AIADMK-led government. After several hours of interrogation, Balaji was arrested and sent to judicial custody. Even as the opposition demanded the immediate removal of Balaji from the ministry, CM Stalin did not succumb to the pressure. However, Balaji finally tendered his resignation on February 12, 2024, eight months after his arrest and ahead of his bail plea hearing in the Madras High Court. After the Supreme Court granted him bail, Balaji walked out of Puzhal Central Prison after 450 days and was inducted again as minister on September 29 last year.

–IANS