The Supreme Court on Tuesday set aside a Madras High Court order that refused to discharge V. Senthil Balaji from the cash-for-jobs scam case filed against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A bench comprised of Justice Krishna Murari and Justice V Ramasubramanian also said that the Investigation Officer (IO) can continue with the investigation.
“Appeals of de novo investigation (fresh investigation) are allowed. The directions issued for de novo investigation are set aside,” the bench noted.
The bench disposed of a batch of appeals against an October 2022 Madras High Court ruling.
The High Court had ordered the ED to re-investigate two cases filed against Balaji in the ‘cash-for-jobs scam.’
Despite the fact that the ED had completed its investigation and filed chargesheets in all cases by 2021, the High Court ruled that the central agency’s investigation had failed to secure critical forensic evidence.
The High Court also stated that the ED’s investigation into the alleged offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had been hampered significantly by multiple petitions and applications filed in various courts by Balaji and all other parties involved in the case.
In 2021, the ED had registered four cases related to the scam, all of which named Balaji as an accused.
Two of these cases involved irregularities in the appointment of bus conductors in the State transportation department, while the other two involved the appointment of drivers and junior engineers.
All of these appointments were made between 2011 and 2015, during Balaji’s tenure as Transport Minister in the AIADMK government. Balaji had approached the High Court seeking discharge from the two cases.
The Minister claimed he was the victim of “political malice” after defecting from the AIADMK to the DMK. In its order, the High Court rejected such arguments.
