Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar has granted approval to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to continue prosecuting former minister V. Senthil Balaji in a fraud case pending before a Chennai special court, according to state government sources.
The case stems from allegations that during 2011–2016, when Senthil Balaji served as Transport Minister in the AIADMK government, money was collected from several people on the promise of securing jobs such as drivers and conductors.
Based on these complaints, the Chennai Central Crime Branch registered four cheating cases in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The matters are being heard by the Chennai special court that tries cases involving MPs and MLAs.
Citing the same set of allegations, the ED arrested Senthil Balaji on June 14, 2023, alleging illegal money transactions. After spending about 15 months in jail, he was granted bail by the Supreme Court.
While earlier the ED did not need government sanction to continue such proceedings, a recent Supreme Court direction requires permission from the concerned state government when the accused is a “public servant.” Following this, the ED sought approval from the Tamil Nadu government, which forwarded the request to the Governor, who has now cleared it, sources said.
