TN court extends judicial custody of Minister Senthil Balaji till July 12 in money laundering case

On June 14, Minister Senthil Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

A local court on Wednesday extended the judicial custody of Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, who is currently recuperating at a private hospital following a bypass surgery, by two weeks in a case relating to accepting bribes from people in lieu of jobs during his 2011-2015 tenure as transport minister in the AIADMK government.

Senthil Balaji, who is now a minister without portfolio in Chief Minister M K Stalin’s Cabinet, will now remain in judicial custody till July 12. The minister, who held Electricity and Prohibition portfolios before they were allotted to two of his colleagues, appeared via video conferencing before Principal Sessions Judge S Alli on Wednesday afternoon.

“How are you?” the judge asked Balaji, to which the latter responded, “It is painful.”

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Senthil Balaji, who holds considerable influence in the western zone of Tamil Nadu, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14 following a day-long raid at premises connected to him.

However, the minister complained of chest pain and was admitted to the Government Omandurar Multi-Speciality Hospital from where he was shifted to a private hospital. He underwent a bypass surgery at the private hospital.

Balaji is accused of receiving money from job aspirants in lieu of jobs in the Transport Department. He was sacked from the Cabinet in 2005 by the then CM J Jayalalithaa. Senthil Balaji quit the AIADMK in 2018 and joined the DMK.