Ajit Karn
Wednesday, June 15, the Madras High Court issued an order authorizing Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji to be shifted to Chennai’s Kauvery hospital. The minister is presently hospitalized at the Omandurar Government Multi Super Specialty Hospital, where doctors have determined that he requires immediate medical attention. The court made this determination while hearing a habeas corpus petition lodged by the minister’s family after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 14 in connection with a money-laundering case. A bench of Justices Nisha Banu and D Bharat Chakravarthy ruled that the minister is responsible for the costs associated with the relocation.
Senthil Balaji was admitted to the hospital with complaints of chest pain, and according to a statement released by the hospital, the Minister requires coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), also known as cardiac bypass surgery. The court has also ruled that a team of physicians assembled by the ED may observe Senthil Balaji’s treatment at Kauvery hospitals on a regular basis. The court also stated that the Minister’s hospitalization would be disregarded when evaluating ED’s custody petition.
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NR Elango, who represented the family of Senthil Balaji before the court, argued that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials had not complied with the guidelines prior to the arrest and that the family was not informed of the detention. Although the habeas corpus petition may appear futile since he has been remanded, it was argued that the arrest was unlawful and therefore the petition is viable. The case was initially scheduled to be heard by Justices M Sundar and R Sakthivel, but R Sakthivel recused himself and the bench was reconstituted.
Since June 13, the ED had conducted investigations at Senthil Balaji’s residences in Chennai and Karur, as well as his office at the Secretariat. After nearly 18 hours of raids, the ED notified Senthil Balaji that he was under arrest. In the early morning hours of June 14, he was transported to the hospital complaining of chest pain. Images depicted Senthil Balaji lying in a car while in agony and being transported to the hospital. Senthil Balaji has been arrested in a money-laundering case related to the transport employment scams he oversaw between 2011 and 2015 as the Transport Minister in former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s cabinet under the rule of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
