CHENNAI: Tightening the screws on influential DMK leader V Senthilbalaji who has remained on its target list for long, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) reached out to the new government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, seeding its formal sanction to prosecute the ex-minister in an alleged cash-for-jobs scam.
This case, which dates back to the 2011-2016 AIADMK government led by late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, has dogged Senthilbalaji for long. The DMK, which was then in the Opposition, raised the allegation of large-scale corruption against Senthilbalaji and filed complaints and petitions against him.
In a stunning political irony, Balaji shifted allegiance to the DMK, where he grew into a powerful minister in the MK Stalin Cabinet. However, the case continued to hound him, and even got him arrested, snatched away his minister post, and kept him behind bars for more than a year before getting released on bail by the Supreme Court.
So, what exactly does the ED want now? Let’s take a look at what the letter says.
In the letter dated May 15, addressed to the Chief Secretary, M Saikumar, the central agency sought sanction from the State government, which is mandatory under Section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, when prosecuting judges and public servants.
As insisted in Section 218, the sanction prosecution by the government is an important legal procedure to be fulfilled, as the alleged offence was committed in the exercise of powers while holding the office of a minister. Until that is submitted, courts would not proceed further in the prosecution complaint.
The Directorate had filed a prosecution complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), before the Special Court, Chennai, against Senthilbalaji, the then Transport Minister, in connection with 'cash-for-jobs scam' in State Transport Corporations/Metropolitan Transport Corporation. He was arraigned as accused No 1 in the case.
Its investigation under PMLA revealed that during his tenure as the minister (2011-2016), Balaji orchestrated the scam in collusion with his brother, RV Ashok Kumar and personal assistants, B Shanmugam and M Karthikeyan, the agency said. They collected bribes from candidates seeking employment as drivers, conductors, tradesmen, and engineers in State Transport Undertakings (STUs).
Bribes were collected through associates and PAs, with promises of appointment orders that were either never issued or issued by manipulating recruitment records. Investigation indicated that Balaji played a central role in the alleged recruitment irregularities, the agency said, alleging that he used his official residence and staff to monitor the "job sale" process and issued direct instructions to Managing Directors of STUs to appoint specific candidates from his lists, bypassing merit and reservation policies, alleged the directorate.
Balaji generated substantial bribe through these corrupt activities and tried to layer and project these funds as untainted through cash deposits and asset acquisitions.
On May 14, 2025, ED had requested prosecution sanction against Balaji from the then Governor RN Ravi, who had a running feud with the MK Stalin government and he forwarded the request to the then Chief Secretary on September 11, 2025, seeking the opinion/advice/sanction of the government.
“However, instead of giving the prosecution sanction, the then Chief Secretary vide letter dated October 8, 2025, returned the ED request without prosecution sanction on trivial grounds. It was further informed by the then Chief Secretary that previous sanction of the State government is necessary for the prosecution of a public servant if he has been a Minister at the time of commission of the alleged offence under PMLA. It was further conveyed that the State government is the competent authority to accord sanction of prosecution and the Governor cannot decide the matter suo moto. It was insisted by the then government/Chief Secretary that as the State government alone is the authority competent to grant sanction under Section 197 CrPC/218 BNSS, the relevant documents may be returned to ED and ED should be directed to approach the State government directly in order to enable the government to take a decision,” the agency said in its letter to the present chief secretary.
Following this, the Governor's office returned the ED's letter on February 23, 2026, with a request to forward the proposal directly to the State government for consideration by the Council of Ministers and to render advice to the Governor.
The ED’s letter seeking prosecution sanction was forwarded to the State government by the Governor's office, but was returned on trivial grounds that the letter should have been sent to the State government directly and not through the Governor's office, it said. “The process of providing prosecution sanction has been delayed deliberately only because of the fact that Senthilbalaji was himself a part of the previous government/member of the Council of Ministers,” the agency alleged.
In the fresh prosecution sanction request submitted directly to the State government as insisted by the then chief secretary on October 8, 2025, the directorate submitted a secret note on investigation, prosecution complaint dated August 12, 2023, and all the relied upon documents in a pen drive.
It now remains to be seen how the TVK-led government of Chief Minister Vijay would respond to the letter, which, in turn, would be taken as a signal about its stand with the DMK and AIADMK in the coming days.