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Synopsis

As the Supreme Court today granted bail to Tamil Nadu's former minister V Senthil Balaji in a money laundering case, it has observed that inordinate delay in the conclusion of the trial and the higher threshold for the grant of bail cannot go together. 

Referring to Prevention of money Laundering Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, the top court has said, "Considering the gravity of the offences in such statutes, expeditious disposal of trial for the crimes under these statutes is contemplated. Moreover, such statutes contain provisions laying down higher threshold for the grant of bail. The expeditious disposal of the trial is also warranted considering the higher threshold set for the grant of bail".

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and AG Masih has held the requirement of expeditious disposal of cases must be read into these statutes.

"It is a well­-settled principle of our criminal jurisprudence that “bail is the rule, and jail is the exception.” These stringent provisions regarding the grant of bail, such as Section 45(1)(iii) of the PMLA, cannot become a tool which can be used to incarcerate the accused without trial for an unreasonably long time", the court has added.

The top court today has also said Constitutional Courts cannot allow provisions like Section 45(1)(ii) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to become instruments in the hands of the Enforcement Directorate to continue incarceration for a long time when there is no possibility of a trial of the scheduled offence and the PMLA offence concluding within a reasonable time.

Balaji approached Supreme Court challenging the Madras High Court's decision from February this year dismissing his bail plea. High Court had decided the matter on merit and directed the trial court to proceed with the trial on a daily basis and conclude it within a three-month timeframe.

Allegedly, when Senthil Balaji, who recently resigned from the post of Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister, was serving as Transport Minister in Jayalalithaa’s Cabinet during 2011-15, a job racket took place where bribe was sought for jobs in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation. It is alleged that he had obtained money from third parties promising jobs in the Transport Department and thereafter cheated them.

ED arrested the Minister on June 14 last year and he was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. Meanwhile, after the Minister complained of chest pain, he was admitted to Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Specialty Hospital at Omandurar Estate in Chennai for a medical checkup. At the government hospital, the Minister was advised CABG-Bypass surgery at the earliest.

On the same day, the Minister's wife moved the high court alleging that his arrest has been done without following the due procedure and sought his transfer to a private hospital for treatment. Later, the high court denied the Minister interim bail but allowed him to be shifted to a private hospital in Chennai for treatment.

Case Title: V Senthil Balaji vs. ED