SC judge recuses from hearing Senthilbalaji's anticipatory bail plea

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court judge Justice V Mohana on Friday recused herself from hearing the anticipatory bail plea of DMK leader V Senthilbalaji in a fresh corruption case.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant informed the court about the recusal of Justice Mohana and said that he, alongwith Justice Joymalya Bagchi, will take up the plea at 1 pm owing to the urgency.

On Thursday, the top court agreed to hear the plea of Balaji seeking pre-arrest bail in a fresh corruption case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC).

The Madras High Court has dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of Balaji in the fresh FIR lodged by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in the TASMAC scam case.

Soon after the denial, the top court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant was urged by senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi and Amit Anand Tiwari on behalf of the DMK leader that his plea be listed for urgent hearing as he faces imminent coercive action.

Balaji represents Coimbatore South in the Tamil Nadu Assembly.

According to the fresh FIR, a large-scale scam took place in TASMAC in the allotment of shops and bars.

Balaji alleged that the FIR quoted verbatim the affidavit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the petition filed by the anti-money laundering probe agency before the Supreme Court.

In fact, the FIR itself at various places says that it is from the counter affidavit and petition of the ED, the plea said.

"Our contention is that the FIR is for the incident said to have been committed between 2021 and 2025. I am at no flight risk; no custodial interrogation required. I was the minister of the department and TASMAC is a corporation independent in existence and functioning," said Tiwari, a senior advocate. He also termed the move an instance of political vendetta.

The FIR details a systematic cash-kickback scheme involving tens of crores, where bottle supply companies generated bogus or inflated invoices for distilleries.

TASMAC retail shops systematically collected amounts in excess of the maximum retail price (MRP) from consumers in an organised manner, overcharging between Rs 10 and Rs 100 for standard liquor and up to Rs 500 for foreign liquor, the FIR states.

The case has been registered under sections 120B, 167, 409, 109, and 420 of the IPC, corresponding provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 (including Sections 61(2), 201, 316(5), 49, and 318(4)), and sections 7(c), 12, 13(1)(a), and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018).