The Supreme Court of India has adjourned the hearing on the bail plea of former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji until May 6. Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in connection with a money laundering case. The bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan deferred the matter upon the request of the agency’s lawyer, who cited the unavailability of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The lawyer informed the bench that the agency has submitted its reply in the case. Senior advocate Aryama Sundaram, representing Balaji, urged the bench to proceed with the hearing, emphasizing that Balaji has been in jail for 320 days. However, the bench stated that it has yet to review the ED’s reply and scheduled the next hearing for May 6.
On April 1, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the ED seeking its response to Balaji’s bail plea. The Madras High Court had previously dismissed Balaji’s bail petition on February 28, stating that granting bail in a case of this nature would convey the wrong message and be against the larger public interest. Instead, the high court directed the special court to expedite the trial within a specified timeframe. Balaji was arrested on June 14 last year in connection with a money laundering case related to a cash-for-jobs scam during his tenure as transport minister in a previous AIADMK administration. The ED filed a 3,000-page charge sheet against him on August 12 last year. Despite multiple bail petitions, both the high court and a local court have rejected Balaji’s requests for bail.
