Chennai, September 26: The former Tamil Nadu minister V. Senthil Balaji has been granted bail by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam.
He walked out of Puzhal Central Prison in Chennai today after being in judicial custody since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 14 last year.
A bench comprising Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih, while granting the bail to the DMK leader said there has been a delay in the trial. “Bail granted, but there are very onerous conditions put in the bail,” the bench said,
The Enforcement Case Information Register (ECIR) was registered based on three FIRs lodged against him by the local police in 2018 for his alleged involvement in a cash-for-job case when he was the Transport Minister in Jayalalithaa's Cabinet in 2015.
The charges date back to his tenure as transport minister during the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government from 2011 to 2015. He joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in December 2018 and assumed office as the electricity minister after the party came to power in May 2021.
