In a setback to Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthil Balaji, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected his (Senthil Balaji’s) plea against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking his custody for interrogation for alleged money laundering in the cash for job scam and entrusted his custody to the anti-money laundering agency till August 12.

Giving Senthil Balaji’s custody to the ED and declining his plea for release, a bench of Justice A S Bopanna and Justice M M Sundresh said he will be in the custody of the ED till August 12, said advocate Arjun Garg who appeared for Senthil Balaji in the matter.

The order pronounced by Justice Sundreash has said that the 15-day custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act will be available to the ED till 60 days period (from the day of arrest) under the Section 167 of Code of Criminal Procedure, Advocate Arjun Garg said.

Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the procedure for further custody when investigation cannot be completed in 24 hours after arrest.

In the case of Balaji, the 60 days’ period will be completed on August 12, 2023. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14.

Having given the custody of Senthil Balaji to the Enforcement Directorate till August 12, the court today referred to a larger bench a 1992 judgment in Anupam Kulkarni case, said advocate Arjun Gard.

In Anupam Kulkarni case a three-judge bench had ruled the investigating agency will not be entitled for the custody of an accused for interrogation after the expiry of 15 days from the date of arrest irrespective of reasons and circumstance under which it (investigating agency) could not get the custody of the accused. However, a two-judge bench of the top court in a judgment pronounced on April 10, 2023, differed with the three-judge bench. The two-judge bench headed by Justice M.R. Shah (since retired) had ruled contrary to the position taken by the three-judge bench earlier.

The court today further said that habeas corpus petition by the Megala after the arrest of Senthil Balaji by the ED was not maintainable and if they were aggrieved by the remand order, they could have challenged it.

Senthil Balaji had contended that after the expiry of the first 15 days after his arrest, when he was hospitalised for coronary surgery, could not be excluded for giving his custody to ED while the ED had contended that the first 15 days after the arrest of Senthil Balaji, when he was in hospital, were liable to excluded as during that period it could interrogate him.

Senthil Balaji and his wife Megala had challenged the Madras High Court decision upholding the arrest of Senthil Balaji and subsequently magistrate court remanding him to judicial custody.

The high court order upheld the arrest of the minister, and also holding valid his subsequent remand in judicial custody came following the decision of a third judge, Justice C V Karthikeyan holding that the accused had no right to frustrate the investigation.

The matter had gone to Justice C K Karthikeyan – the third judge – following a split verdict on July 4, by a division bench of Madras High Court comprising Justice Nisha Banu and Justice D. Bharatha.

Justice Nisha Banu held that the habeas corpus plea filed (by Balaji’s wife Megala) for Senthil Balaji’s release was maintainable and should be allowed. Justice Banu further said ED is not entitled to get the custody of Senthil Balaji.

However, Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy held that the habeas corpus plea was not maintainable after the remand order had been passed. He said that no case was made out to show that Balaji’s remand was illegal. Justice Chakaravarthy had also said that that period of Balaji’s stay at the hospital, should be excluded from the ED’s custody period.

Senthil Balaji was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement on June 14 in an alleged ‘cash for job’ scam that took place when he was the transport minister (2011-2015) in the government of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

The ED had arrested Senthil Balaji in connection with a money-laundering case rooted in alleged ‘cash for job’ scam that took place when Senthil Balaji was Transport minister in AIADMK government who later crossed over to ruling DMK in 2018.

The high court had permitted Balaji to be shifted to a private hospital for a heart surgery and restricted his interrogation in the hospital. Senthil Balaji was operated for the blockages of three coronary arteries at a local private hospital in Chennai.