The Madras High Court on Thursday quashed summons issued by Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Tamil Nadu Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise V. Senthilbalaji and two others in connection with a money laundering case. The probe was initiated on the basis of job racketing cases booked against them by the local police a few years ago.
A Division Bench of Justices T. Raja and K. Kumaresh Babu allowed writ petitions filed by the Minister and the co-accused B. Shanmugam and R.V. Ashok Kumar to quash the summons issued to them by the ED on April 29, and declare as illegal and unconstitutional the investigation initiated against them for their alleged involvement in money laundering.
The ED had registered a Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against the writ petitioners on July 29, 2021, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The basis for such action was three First Information Reports (FIRs) that the Central Crime Branch in Chennai had booked against the Minister a few years ago on charges of accepting bribes to appoint drivers and conductors when he was the Transport Minister in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government.
