The Supreme Court, on Monday, April 28, disposed of an application by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that sought to recall the bail of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and former Miniter Senthil Balaji. The ED sought to recall Senthil Balaji’s bail on the grounds that he might use his ministerial position to influence witnesses in the case.
The court had also allowed the ED to approach the court if Senthil Balaji becomes Minister during the trial period.
The DMK leader was granted bail on September 26, 2024, after 14 months of incarceration. Just three days later, he was reinducted into the cabinet as Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Electricity, Excise, and Prohibition.
A Raj Bhavan communique accepting the resignation of Senthil Balaji, who was Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise in Tamil Nadu government, was placed before a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and AG Masih. The Justice Oka-led Bench, on April 23, had told the senior DMK leader to choose between his ministerial post and bail in the money laundering case. It had cautioned him 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 Senthil 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 MK Stalin, on April 27, 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 K Ponmudy, Minister for Forests and Khadi. The Governor has approved the recommendation," read a Raj Bhavan communique issued. It added that Transport Minister SS 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.
ED officials 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, Senthil Balaji was arrested and sent to judicial custody. Even as the opposition demanded the immediate removal of Senthil 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, Senthil Balaji walked out of Puzhal Central Prison after 450 days and was inducted again as minister on September 29 last year.