SC relaxes bail conditions for Senthil Balaji; questions need for his twice-a-week ED appearances
NEW DELHI: Granting more relief in the form of bail relaxation to former Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji, the Supreme Court on Monday said in its order that unless summoned by the probe agency, he was not required to appear before an Enforcement Directorate officer twice a week in Chennai in the money laundering case linked to the alleged cash-for-job scam in the state. Why is this man (Balaji) required to appear before the Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate at Chennai on every Monday and Friday? At least save your own officer from the harassment as he will have to wait twice per week for this gentleman to come, a two-judge bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said. The court also relaxed the condition requiring him to appear in the trial court on every date of hearing, saying the presiding officer may consider any plea for exemption on merits. Earlier, the apex court had directed that the appellant mark his attendance every Monday and Friday between 11 am and 12 noon at the office of the ED Deputy Director in Chennai. He was also required to appear on the first Saturday of every month before investigating officers of the three scheduled offences. During the hearing on Monday, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Balaji, argued that the investigation was complete and the complaint had been filed before the Special Court, making the twice-weekly appearance unnecessary. He stressed that Balaji had never absconded and had appeared before the ED on 116 occasions. Lawyer Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, opposed the relaxation, saying the conditions were imposed due to the seriousness of the crime. The conditions were imposed by the Supreme Courts order of September 2024, which granted him bail in the money laundering case related to the cash-for-jobs scam, he said. He argued that the stringent conditions had ensured smooth progress of the trial and should remain unchanged. The bench, however, questioned the insistence on twice-weekly appearances. A man is going before you every Monday and Friday; he has a cup of tea with your officer. Is this necessary? CJI Kant asked. Balaji had approached the Supreme Court in October, stating that he had complied with all conditions for 13 months, made 116 appearances before the ED, that the PMLA trial had begun, and that predicate offences were still at the summons stage. He sought relaxation of the bail conditions. The court had earlier sought the EDs reply after hearing submissions by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Narendra Hooda for Balaji, Zoheb Hossain for the ED, and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan for complainant Y Balaji. The former Tamil Nadu minister was arrested on June 14 last year by the ED in connection with the money laundering case linked to the cash-for-jobs scam during his tenure as Transport Minister in an earlier AIADMK regime. The ED has alleged corruption. It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court had granted him bail on September 26 last year solely on grounds of delay in trial and long incarceration. Days later, on September 29, he was sworn in again as minister, taking charge of electricity, non-conventional energy and excise in Chief Minister M.K. Stalins Cabinet. In subsequent hearings, the apex court expressed displeasure over his reappointment, warning him to choose between post and freedom.
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