'Doesn't Seem Serious': SC Refuses Bail To Minister Senthil Balaji On Medical Ground

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to jailed Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader V Senthil Balaji on medical grounds. Declining Balaji’s bail plea, the apex court said the condition of the jailed politician doesn’t seem to be very serious to get a special leave.

A bench comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma asked Balaji– arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case– to apply for regular bail before the trial court.

“Any observation made in the interim order against the petitioner on merits shall not come in the way of the petitioner in filing regular bail application,” the bench said.

At the outset, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Balaji, requested the court to allow Balaji’s application and referred to a condition called chronic lacunar infarction.

Justice Trivedi, however, said, “I checked on Google. It says that it can be cured by medication. It does not appear to be serious or life-threatening, otherwise, we would have seriously considered it.”

Rohatgi then said the need for hospitalisation of a prisoner was not a prerequisite for granting medical bail and said,”the man is sick, he has had a bypass.”

Justice Trivedi then observed,”Today, bypass is like getting an appendix removed,” Objecting to Rohatgi’s submission, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “Seventy per cent of inmates would be sick if we go by that.”

As the bench expressed disinclination to entertain the matter, the plea was withdrawn. It was dismissed as withdrawn.

The court was hearing the DMK leader’s plea against Madras High Court’s order in which he was refused bail on medical grounds.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which arrested Balaji on June 14, contended in the High Court on October 19 that the retention of the accused as a minister in the state cabinet without any portfolio clearly indicates that he is highly influential.

The High Court accepted the ED’s contention that being an influential person he could tamper with evidence and influence witnesses if released from custody.

Before his arrest by central sleuths, Balaji was in charge of Power and Excise Departments in the Tamil Nadu government.

The ED has charged that the minister and his accomplices had taken money from gullible job seekers and promised them jobs in the state transport department during his tenure as the Transport Minister from 2011 to 2016 in the then AIADMK government.