Sessions court directs Senthilbalaji to appear before court in person

CHENNAI: A Sessions Court in Chennai directed jailed former minister V Senthilbalaji to appear before the court in person to receive the documents issued by banks (to check the proceeds of the crime) in respect to the job racket case.

In the principal sessions, judge S Alli heard the application preferred by jailed former minister V Senthilbalaji, seeking to advance further submissions in his discharge petition.

Since the counsel for the former minister raised a contradiction between the documents issued by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the documents issued by banks to the court, the judge directed Senthilbalaji to appear before the court on April 22 to receive the original documents.

The former minister stated in his application that he hadn't received the bank documents in compliance with the court's order. After receiving the particulars from the bank, he should be allowed to advance his arguments, said the application.

After the perusal of the application, the judge allowed it.

However, Senthilbalaji raised contradictions in the documents served to him by ED.

Senthilbalaji filed a petition seeking to discharge him from the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case connected to the alleged job racket. While the order was reserved in the discharge petition, Senthilbalaji filed a fresh application to advance further arguments.

Senthilbalaji was arrested under PMLA by the ED on June 14 at his residence in Chennai. The investigating agency registered the PMLA case against Senthilbalaji over an alleged cash-for-jobs scam during his tenure as Transport Minister in the then AIADMK regime.