Case background
The Madras High Court on Thursday raised pointed questions while hearing a second bail petition filed by Karthik, who was arrested in connection with an alleged corruption case linked to TASMAC.
Allegations in the TASMAC case
The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption police have registered a case against seven persons, including former DMK minister V Senthil Balaji, alleging irregularities in TASMAC’s operations such as liquor procurement and the grant of bar licences.
Court’s observations during hearing
Karthik’s petition came up before Justice V Lakshminarayanan. The petitioner’s counsel argued that police had taken him into custody for four days for interrogation but had not seized anything, and sought bail on that basis. The judge, however, questioned whether an accused in a corruption case was attempting to seek sympathy, also referring to the petitioner being in prison in a separate case related to an alleged attempt to “buy” an MLA.
Next steps
The police sought time to file their response. Accepting the request, the court directed the police to reply and adjourned the matter to September 25. The court had earlier dismissed Karthik’s bail plea on August 28.
