The Supreme Court expressed significant concerns on Friday over the appointment of DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government shortly after his release on bail in a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-job scandal. Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih highlighted the issue, pointing out the problematic nature of such a rapid political reinstatement.
The court questioned the prudence of appointing someone to a ministerial position immediately following bail, especially given the gravity and nature of the allegations against Balaji. “It can’t be axiomatic that the moment a person is released he becomes a minister, there is something terribly wrong,” remarked the bench. The justices are considering the broader implications of such appointments, particularly when numerous public officials are involved as witnesses in the ongoing case.
During the proceedings, the court requested detailed records concerning the witnesses yet to be examined in Balaji’s cases, including the number of public servants and victims involved as witnesses. This scrutiny comes in the wake of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s submissions, which portrayed Balaji as wielding “considerable influence” even during his incarceration, a claim that was contested by Balaji’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused Balaji of attempting to delay the trial proceedings deliberately and has even sought the cancellation of his bail. The agency’s charges paint a damning picture of Balaji’s tenure as the transport minister during the AIADMK regime from 2011 to 2015, describing the recruitment processes under his watch as a “corrupt chiefdom.”
Balaji, who represents the Karur assembly constituency, was arrested on June 14, 2023, and spent 471 days in jail before being granted bail. He was reappointed to his previous ministerial portfolios—electricity, non-conventional energy development, prohibition, and excise—on September 29 by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, immediately following his release.
