HC upholds arrest of Senthil Balaji

Justice C V Karthikeyan rules ED has right to take custody of accused for interrogation

- R SIVAKUMAR

JUSTICE C V Karthikeyan of the Madras High Court on Friday upheld the arrest of Minister V Senthil Balaji, currently under post-operative care at a private hospital in Chennai, under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA) for receiving proceeds of crime obtained through a cash-for-jobs scam. A habeas corpus petition filed by S Megala, the minister’s wife, was referred to the Justice after a two-judge bench delivered a split verdict on the legality of the arrest.

While Justice J Nisha Banu held the arrest illegal, ordered the immediate release of the minister, and ruled that the ED lacked the power to take the minister into custody for interrogation, co-judge Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy ruled there was no illegality in the arrest and the ED has the right to take him under custody for interrogation. He also dismissed the HCP.