A sessions court here on Friday extended former Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji’s remand till February 20. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in June 2023 in a money laundering case.
Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, before whom Senthil Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the Central Prison here, extended his judicial custody till February 20.
Further, Balaji’s counsel informed the court that the DMK leader has filed a petition to discharge him from the money laundering case.
Originally, the judge had on January 11 posted the case for framing of charges against Balaji. However, when the matter came up for hearing on January 22, Senior counsel S Prabakaran, appearing for Balaji informed the court that the DMK leader has filed a petition to defer the trial till the disposal of the predicate offence.
After hearing elaborate arguments from both sides, the judge had on February 15 dismissed the petition filed by Balaji. The court had also directed the police to produce Balaji in person today.
When the case came up for hearing on Friday, counsel for Balaji informed the court that Balaji has filed a petition to discharge him from the money laundering case. He also requested the court to postpone the framing of charges. Thereafter, Balaji was produced through video conferencing and his remand was extended till February 20.
Meanwhile, Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras high court has posted to February 21, further hearing of the bail petition filed by Balaji, after accepting the request made by senior counsel C Aryama Sundaram in this connection.
In his discharge petition, Balaji submitted there was no iota of evidence to establish that the petitioner and the other co-accused prior to the commission of the offence had conspired with each other. Further, the case of prosecution lacks in proving that the criminal conspiracy was hatched by the petitioner on which date, time and place, he added.
He said this Court shall consider admissibility of the evidence and evaluate the reliability, acceptability and probative value of the evidence, as there were forces and merits to consider the admissibility of the tainted documents. Therefore, if the truth, veracity and effect of the evidence was not meticulously judged, this may preclude this Court that the alleged case was proceeding with grossly inadmissible evidence, he added.
Balaji was arrested on June 14, 2023 by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during an earlier AIADMK regime.
His resignation as a Minister from the M K Stalin-led state cabinet was accepted by Governor RN Ravi on Tuesday.
