The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to former Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged cash for jobs scam.
A bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih today said that stringent bail provisions and delay in trial cannot go together.
Balaji moved the top court after the Madras High Court had rejected his bail plea. However, the high court also directed the Special Court to expedite the trial, considering Balaji's long incarceration.
Senthil Balaji was arrested by the ED in a cash-for-jobs scandal under a previous AIADMK rule when he was in charge of the Transport ministry.
The former Tamil Nadu minister allegedly formulated a scheme where his brother and assistants took money from job seekers in exchange for promises of employment in the Tamil Nadu Transport Department.
The ED filed an ECIR and arrested him in June 2023, after several complaints were filed by candidates who claimed to have paid substantial amounts but did not secure the promised jobs. He was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), on charges linked to alleged scam.
The former minister had resigned on February 14, seven months after he was arrested and imprisoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering and job scam case. Following his arrest, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin had retained him as a minister as a show of support. However, following his prolonged legal battle and multiple bail pleas being rejected by lower courts and high court, Balaji resigned in February after several questions were raised over why he was being retained as a minister in the M K Stalin-led Cabinet without any portfolio.
In June, 2023, Senthil Balaji was arrested by the ED in a dramatic fashion. He was taken into custody following hours of questioning and hospitalised immediately after he complained of chest pain.