CHENNAI: The principal sessions court in Chennai, which is also the special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has reserved the orders on the bail application of Minister V Senthil Balaji for September 20, 2023.
After the arguments advanced by senior counsel Kapil Sibal and NR Elango for the minister, and Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan for the ED, judge S Alli reserved the orders on Friday. Alleging malafide intention in the proceedings of ED, Kapil Sibal said only Balaji was arraigned as accused in the case.
The Income Tax department has accepted the returns submitted by him for the amount of Rs 1.34 crore which the ED is alleging proceeds of crime, Sibal said, and added the agency, during custodial interrogation, had asked Balaji to join BJP.
The counsel also sought bail considering the minister’s health condition but the ASG said as per the SC, bail on medical grounds can only be given if facilities cannot be provided by the prison authorities.
The ASG also contended that Balaji may hamper the investigation if enlarged on bail since he continues to be a minister. Since the minister has been part of a grave economic offence involving corruption, the court should not exercise its discretion to grant bail, he added. Meanwhile, the court also extended Balaji’s judicial custody to September 29.