Madras High Court: After the division bench of J Nisha Banu and Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy, JJ. delivered a split verdict in the habeas corpus plea filed by wife of V Senthil Balaji, Minister for Electricity, Prohibition & Excise, Tamil Nadu against his arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement (‘ED’) for money laundering in cash for job scam case., SV Gangapurwala, C.J. has assigned the case to CV Karthikeyan, J. to break the split verdict tie.
The habeas Corpus petition was filed in relation to the cash-for-jobs scam case, in which it was alleged that during 2014 while officiating as a transport minister, Senthil Balaji had obtained money from third parties promising jobs in the Transport Department and thereafter cheated them. Based on the said offences, a case is registered by the ED under Section 4 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and he was arrested on 14-06-2023
Justice J Nisha Banu held that the Habeas Corpus Petition is maintainable; Enforcement Directorate is not entrusted with the powers to seek police custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Further, she denied excluding the period of treatment undergone by Balaji while calculating the period for custodial interrogation.
Per Contra, Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy held that the habeas corpus petition is not maintainable, as the petitioner was not able to show that the remand was illegal. Further, he excluded the period of treatment undergone by Balaji while calculating the period for custody.
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Source: Press
