A Chennai court on Wednesday extended the judicial custody of Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister V. Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate for his alleged involvement in the cash-for-jobs scam case, by two weeks.
The order was passed by Principal Sessions Judge S. Alli at Chennai. The Minister, who is currently undergoing treatment at Kauvery Hospital after bypass surgery, was produced before the court via video-conferencing.
The Principal Sessions Judge asked Balaji about his health. The Minister responded that he was still suffering from pain.
Earlier, the court had remanded Balaji to judicial custody for 14 days through an order dated June 14.
On June 15, the Sessions court permitted ED to interrogate Balaji at the hospital.
However, the national agency was unable to question the accused in the hospital, owing to the restrictions imposed by Kauvery hospital due to Balaji’s medical conditions. On June 24, ED submitted a memo before the court seeking withdrawal of its request.
The national agency had registered a case against Balaji under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 for alleged misuse of his office for carrying out a job racket in the state transport undertaking during his tenure as the Transport Minister during the government of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazkhagam (AIADMK) from 2011-2015.
As per ED, hefty amounts were paid to the candidates, who were then selected for jobs. ED recovered unaccounted cash deposits worth Rs 1.60 crore from the bank account of Balaji and his wife S. Megala.
Earlier, the Madras High Court had directed the police to commence a fresh investigation in the matter. The order was set aside by the Supreme Court on June 16, which allowed ED to resume its probe.