CHENNAI: The Madras High Court is set to pass the final orders on the Habeas Corpus Petition (HCP) filed by Senthilbalaji's wife, S Megala, against his arrest by the ED today.
On June 27, after seven hours of intense final arguments by a battery of senior lawyers, Justices Nisha Banu and Bharatha Chakravathy, who heard the HCP case reserved it for final orders and directed the counsels to submit written arguments.
The arguments were based on whether the HCP filed by the arrested State Minister's wife is maintainable or not and also highlighted the limitation of the HCP.
Senthilbalaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in an alleged cash-for-jobs scam that took place when he was the Transport Minister from 2011 to 2015 in All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government led by late J Jayalalithaa.
The Minister, who complained of chest pain on the day of his arrest, was admitted to Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super-Specialty Hospital in Omandurar Estate, and later, the Madras High Court ordered that Senthilbalaji be shifted to Kauvery Hospital for bypass surgery. Accordingly, he was shifted to Kauvery Hospital, where he underwent bypass surgery.
On June 28, Chennai Principal Sessions Court extended the judicial custody of the arrested State Minister till July 12, 2023.