Ex-TN Minister Senthil Balaji Requests Supreme Court To Remove Adverse Observations In Judgment

Ex-Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji has filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking the expunction of certain observations made by the Court in September 2022 in the case P. Dharamaraj v. Shanmugam , which restored the criminal complaints against him over the alleged cash-for-jobs scam.

In the said judgment, the Court had set aside the Madras High Court's order which had quashed the complaints on the basis of settlement between the parties. Observing that there was evidence of corrupt practices to secure employment in the Transport Corporation during Balaji's tenure as Minister (during 2011-2015), the Court set aside the High Court's order, saying that serious offences like corruption cannot be quashed merely on the basis of offer to refund.

In the present application, Balaji voiced the apprehension that the observations made in paragraph 45 and 46 of the judgment could influence the trial court and affect his right to fair trial. He facing separate trials for the offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

"The Applicant humbly submits that the observations made by this Hon'ble Court in paragraphs 45 and 46 would not allow the Applicant to have a fair trial if the same stand. Not only would the same be used by the prosecution to sway the Ld. Trial Court against the Applicant, it also has the effect of demoralizing the present Applicant and creating an apprehension that the trial  would find its course only as an empty formality.Further, it is most respectfully submitted that since the observations are from this Hon'ble Court, the Ld. Trial Court is likely to be prejudiced against the present Applicant during the trial, which is likely to, in the humble submission of the Applicant, violate his right to free and fair trial guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," he submitted in the application.

Balaji, who was arrested in June 2023 in the money laundering case related to the cash-for-jobs scam, was granted bail by the Supreme Court in September 2024. Later, the Supreme Court took exception to Balaji returning as a Minister soon after his release on bail. The ED and a private person filed applications in the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of his bail on the ground that he was influencing the witnesses. After the Court warned that Balaji has to choose between his post (Ministership) and freedom, he chose to resign from the State Council of Ministers.

The application has been filed through AoR Vishal Prasad

Case : V Senthil Balaji v P Dharmaraj M.A in CRIMINAL APPEAL NOS. 1514 – 1516 OF 2022