- Supreme Court stayed DMK leader V Senthil Balaji's arrest in TASMAC corruption case
- Balaji must submit his passport as a condition for the pre-arrest bail granted by top court
- The Madras High Court had dismissed Balaji's anticipatory bail plea on Thursday
In a big relief for DMK leader V Senthil Balaji, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed his arrest in a corruption case linked to alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), a day after the Madras High Court had dismissed his anticipatory bail petition.
Balaji, a former Tamil Nadu minister, however, has to submit his passport to the authorities, a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant said while hearing his pre-arrest bail plea.
Hours before the hearing, Supreme Court judge Justice V Mohana had recused herself from hearing Balaji's petition. The bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi then took up the plea at 1 pm owing to the urgency.
The Madras High Court had dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of Balaji in the fresh case filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in the TASMAC scam case.
Soon after the denial, the top court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant was requested by senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi and Amit Anand Tiwari on behalf of the DMK MLA that his plea be listed for urgent hearing as he faces imminent coercive action.
The DVAC registered the case against Balaji and six others on Wednesday, alleging irregularities in liquor procurement, transport contracts, bar licences and other administrative decisions within TASMAC between 2021 and 2025.
Balaji had served as Tamil Nadu's Minister for Prohibition and Excise during part of this period.
Following the registration of the First Information Report (FIR), DVAC officials conducted searches at more than 40 locations across Tamil Nadu, including Balaji's residence in Karur and premises linked to his former aides and other accused persons.
Apart from Balaji, the case names former TASMAC Managing Director S Visakan, former senior regional managers T Ramadurai Murugan and R Panneerselvam, Balaji's former personal assistant Bhaskar, alleged middleman Rathesh Raj Shanmugavel and S Karthik.
"The Karur Gang"
According to the DVAC, bar licence tenders were allegedly manipulated through cartelisation, proxy ownership, and the use of consecutively numbered demand drafts.
The agency has alleged that Rathesh Raj exercised undue influence over TASMAC's operations, including approval of liquor brands, transfers of the officials, and allotment of bar licences. Visakan allegedly acted on Rathesh Raj's directions, which were said to have originated from Balaji.
The FIR also refers to a group described by investigators as the “Karur Gang."
The agency has also alleged that certain distilleries generated unaccounted cash by inflating invoices relating to used liquor bottles. The money was allegedly paid as kickbacks to TASMAC officials in return for favourable supply orders.
The FIR also contains allegations that TASMAC outlets collected amounts above the maximum retail price. According to the agency, customers were charged between Rs 10 and Rs 100 above the prescribed price for several liquor brands and as much as Rs 500 extra for foreign liquor.
Senthil Balaji's Response
Senthil Balaji has alleged that the FIR quoted verbatim the affidavit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the petition filed by the anti-money laundering probe agency before the Supreme Court.
The FIR itself at various places says that it is from the counter affidavit and petition of the ED, his plea said.
"Our contention is that the FIR is for the incident said to have been committed between 2021 and 2025. I am at no flight risk; no custodial interrogation required. I was the minister of the department and TASMAC is a corporation independent in existence and functioning," his advocate, Amit Anand Tiwari, said, terming the move an instance of political vendetta.
"Also, it is interference with the pending proceeding before the Supreme Court inasmuch as the petition filed by TASMAC and the state of Tamil Nadu in which the ED has filed the said counter-affidavit, which is the basis of the FIR, there is a stay of investigation against TASMAC and no coercive action order. Reliance on such an affidavit of a pending matter is interference with the judicial proceeding," the senior lawyer said.
The plea said it was diametrically opposite to the earlier stand taken by the state government in the matter.
