Former minister Senthil Balaji, who was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has been in jail for over eight months.
His bail pleas were rejected three times in the Chennai Principal Sessions Court, once in the High Court, and once in the Supreme Court.
In this situation, Senthil Balaji filed a second bail plea in the Madras High Court. The hearing on the bail plea was held before a bench headed by Justice Anand Venkatesh.
Senior advocate Arima Sundaram argued on behalf of Senthil Balaji. He denied the claim that there were 30 cases against Senthil Balaji. He said, “All the cases against Senthil Balaji are related to elections and protests. There is no connection between Sanmugam and Senthil Balaji. Action has been taken under the PMLA without any reason for irregularities. There is no direct evidence to support the charges against Senthil Balaji. He is ready to abide by the conditions imposed by the court, so bail should be granted.”
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said, “We have not made any changes to the evidence submitted. All the documents are genuine. All the evidence was collected by another investigating agency.”
After hearing all the arguments, Justice Anand Venkatesh adjourned the verdict on the bail plea without specifying a date.