New Delhi, 20 Dec

The Supreme Court on Friday said it was "terribly wrong" to appoint DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government days after he was granted bail in a money laundering case over the cash-for-job "scam".

A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih said a large number of witnesses were public officials and sought response of the state government on the pending cases against Balaji. "It can't be axiomatic that the moment a person is released he becomes a minister, there is something terribly wrong. Because there maybe cases and cases where somebody is being framed. In the facts of the case we will have to consider," it remarked.

The bench further sought the "record on the number of witnesses which are required to be examined in the cases". "They will also state how many victims of the offences are witnesses and how many of the public servants who are witnesses", said the bench.

The apex court had perused the details of the pending trials and found that common people from whom money was taken were all witnesses apart from public officials.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for ED, submitted that Balaji wielded "considerable influence". "Even while he was in jail, he was minister without portfolio. He wields that power in the state," Mehta said.

Responding to his submission, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Balaji, said, "There are a lot of people who have a lot of power in any state and here who are without portfolio." "It is not a political platform. Let it remain a court," responded Mehta.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted most prosecution witnesses were public servants in the state government.

The matter was posted on 15 January, 2025.

The ED alleged Balaji has deliberately attempted to delay trial court proceedings in the money laundering case related to the case in which the top court granted him bail.

In an affidavit filed on a petition by one of the victims, the ED sought cancellation of bail of Balaji, who was sworn in as a minister by Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi again on 29 September and was assigned the same key portfolios -- electricity, non-conventional energy development, prohibition and excise -- he held previously in the MK Stalin-led cabinet.

The ED said since release of Balaji from jail, the ongoing examination of prosecution witnesses in the case was derailed on account of him moving applications seeking copies of digital records and seeking change of counsel in the midst of trial.