New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday strongly criticised the appointment of 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', saying it was “terribly wrong”, and expressed its worry as the trial was on in a case of money laundering allegedly involving him.
The apex court noted that most of the witnesses in the case were public servants and the victims were common people.
A bench comprising justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government, and sought clarification on this aspect. The bench sought information from the state government on how many witnesses remain to be examined in the case. “It can't be axiomatic that the moment a person is released he becomes a minister, there is something terribly wrong”, said the bench, adding, “because there may be cases and cases where somebody is being framed. In the facts of the case, we will have to consider”.
On the aspect of the pending trial, the bench said common people from whom money has been taken are all witnesses, and the civil servants are witnesses. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the ED, contended that Balaji wielded "considerable influence", and stressed, “even while he was in jail, he was minister without portfolio”. Mehta said Balaji wields that power in the state.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Tamil Nadu, said that “there are a lot of people who have a lot of power in any state and here who are without portfolio." Mehta said it is a courtroom and not a political platform. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the petitioner, submitted that most prosecution witnesses were public servants in the state government.
The bench also sought details from the state regarding the number of victims’ in the case. "If there are a large number of victims, then obviously this man is occupying the position of cabinet minister.....what will happen then," the bench asked.