The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed two petitions by Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife against the Madras High Court order, challenging the legality of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case.
A bench led by Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh dismissed the plea while allowing his custodial interrogation by the ED till August 12 in an alleged cash-for-jobs scam.
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Besides upholding the arrest of the minister, the Madras HC had also held as valid his subsequent remand in judicial custody by a sessions court, reported The Indian Express.
Two separate petitions were filed by the minister and his wife S Megala in the apex court, challenging the July 14 order of the Madras High Court which upheld his arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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Balaji, the Minister of Electricity, Prohibition and Excise, was arrested by the ED on June 15 in connection with a cash-for-jobs scam dating back to his term as Transport Minister during the 2011-16 AIADMK government.
The arrest followed an order of the Supreme Court in May which set aside a direction of the Madras High Court staying the proceedings in the money laundering case.
He was hospitalised after the arrest due to chest pain and underwent a beating heart coronary artery bypass surgery subsequently.