Former Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthilbalaji on May 6 pressed his case for bail in the Supreme Court, saying he had spent “328 days” in custody even as the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said the cash-for-jobs scam case has seen the victims increasingly turn in favour of the accused.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka scheduled Mr. Balaji’s plea seeking regular bail for hearing on May 15.
In the previous hearing, the ED had accused Mr. Balaji, represented by senior advocate Aryama Sundaram, of playing a “central and pivotal role” in the “job racket scam” during the period of 2014-2015.
ADVERTISEMENT
The case involves kickbacks for jobs in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation of Chennai and Tamil Nadu State Corporation when Mr. Balaji was the Transport Minister.
The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was based on three First Information Reports (FIRs) and a chargesheet filed by the law enforcement agency of the Central Crime Branch of Chennai.
The ED had said bank statements show cash deposits of ₹1.34 crore in the account of Mr. Balaji and ₹29.55 lakh in that of S. Megala, his wife. Further, cash deposits of ₹13.13 crore were found with his brother Ashok Kumar; ₹53.89 lakh with his wife A. Nirmala; and ₹2.19 crore with B. Shanmugam, a private assistant of Mr. Balaji.
The ED said the “huge cash deposits” detected to Mr. Balaji were “nothing but part of proceeds of crime brought into the financial system for the purpose of laundering. The proceeds of crime identified in his bank accounts were utilised and layered”.