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Synopsis

The Madras High Court on Tuesday delivered a split verdict on the habeas corpus petition moved by the wife of Minister V. Senthilbalaji.

Megala, the minister's wife, had filed the present plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 14, 2023, in an alleged cash-for-job scam.

The plea was placed before a division bench of Justice J. Nisha Banu and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy who differed in their opinion. 

While Justice Banu declared the Minister’s arrest to be illegal and held the habeas corpus petition maintainable, Justice Chakravarthy opined that since the petitioner had not made out a case to hold that the remand was illegal, thus the present plea was not maintainable.

The matter may now be placed before a third judge.

In the habeas corpus plea, the high court, on June 15, had passed an interim order whereby it had allowed the transfer of the arrested Minister, who suffered from blocks in his coronary arteries, from a government hospital to a private hospital. The Minister has undergone open heart surgery to remove the blockage at the private hospital in Chennai and continues to be there under judicial custody.

Notably, the ED has filed an appeal before the top court against the interim orders of the high court. The plea is listed for hearing today. 

The allegations against the Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister are that when he 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.

The ED arrested the Minister on June 14 and he was remanded to judicial custody till June 28.

Meanwhile, after the Minister complained for 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. 

On June 15, though the high court denied the Minister interim bail but allowed him to be shifted to a private hospital in Chennai for treatment.

Case Title: Megala v. State