V. Senthil Balaji Challenges ED’s Authority to Arrest in Money Laundering Case

Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife, Megala, have raised objections to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) decision to arrest him in a money laundering case, arguing that the officials of the probe agency do not possess the authority to make arrests, citing a previous Supreme Court judgment.

Appearing before a bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the minister and his wife, referred to various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and a 2022 apex court judgment to assert that ED officials are not police officers and, consequently, lack the power to arrest.

The solicitor general informed the bench that the agency only has until August 13 to question the minister in custody, as the 60-day period under section 167 of the CrPC for completing the investigation and filing the charge sheet expires on that date.

The Supreme Court had earlier sought the ED’s response to the petitions filed by Balaji and his wife, challenging the Madras High Court’s July 14 ruling that upheld his arrest in the money laundering case related to the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the state’s transport department during his tenure as the transport minister.