Supreme Court allows ED custody of Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji

Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to take custody of arrested Tamil Nadu minister Senthil Balaji. It also affirmed the legality of the arrest of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader.

Rejecting the appeals of Minister Balaji and his wife Megala challenging the Madras High Court’s decision to uphold his arrest in a money laundering case, the SC bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh has, however, referred the question of whether police custody is permissible beyond the initial 15 days of remand to a larger bench.

Despite his arrest on June 14, Balaji, who maintains his role as a minister without portfolio in the Tamil Nadu government, and his wife contested the Madras High Court’s ruling that affirmed his arrest by the investigative agency. The arrest is linked to a money laundering case related to the alleged cash-for-jobs scandal within the state’s transport department.