In a recent development that could potentially provide relief to Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, who is currently under arrest, the Madras High Court has passed a directive. The court has directed the Principal District Judge in Chennai to promptly hear Balaji’s bail application, which is related to the alleged cash-for-jobs scandal. This directive comes after a jurisdictional issue arose concerning the trial proceedings.
A division bench comprising Justice R Suresh Kumar and Justice K Kumaresh Babu passed this directive while disposing of a petition filed by Balaji. In his petition, Balaji challenged the decisions of both the Principal District Judge and a special court responsible for handling cases involving MPs and MLAs in Tamil Nadu. These courts had returned his bail applications citing a lack of jurisdiction.
The bench held that Balaji’s bail application, following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case in June, should only be heard and decided by the Principal District Judge in Chennai. In light of this, it ordered the Principal District Judge to retract the transfer of the case and expeditiously handle Balaji’s bail application after affording both parties an opportunity to present their arguments.
The bench emphasized that, according to the final report submitted by the ED against Balaji last month, the offense falls under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Section 4 stipulates that individuals found guilty of money laundering may face rigorous imprisonment for a minimum of three years, extendable up to seven years, in addition to fines.
The ED has consistently asserted that Balaji’s alleged offense should be tried under Section 4 of the PMLA, as indicated in the final report submitted to the court. Consequently, any offense falling under Section 4 of the Act should only be adjudicated by special courts designated under Section 43(1) of the PMLA in the location where the proposed court is situated, the bench added.
“We believe that the transfer of the case by the Principal Judge, Chennai, to the Special Court exclusively for cases involving MLAs and MPs is not in compliance with Section 43(1) of the PMLA… Therefore, in our considered opinion, the bail application filed by the petitioner must be heard and decided only by the Principal Judge, Chennai,” the bench stated.
In light of these circumstances, the case documents have already been transferred to the Special Court. It has now become imperative to withdraw and re-transfer these documents to the Principal District Judge in Chennai. Subsequently, the bail application will be expedited for a prompt resolution.
