CHENNAI: A sessions court in Chennai reserved the final order in the deferred petition filed by the jailed minister V Senthilbalaji seeking to stay the framing of charges in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case.
The case was listed before the principal sessions judge S Alli. Senior counsel S Prabhakaran appeared for the minister contended that if his client is discharged from the case registered by the Central Crime Branch (CCB), then there will be no proceeds of crime, then the PMLA case registered by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) will be automatically infructuous. Further, the ED has not furnished the materials seized and the evidence was tampered against his client, he added.
The counsel appeared for ED stated that Senthilbalaji is attempting to stall the trial proceedings by filling the deferred petition, which amounts to gross abuse of the process of law.
After the submissions, the judge reserved the final order on February 15.
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.
On the same day, the principal sessions judge subjugated Senthilbalaji under judicial custody.
While the PMLA case is pending before the principal sessions court, Chennai, Senthilbalaji filed a deferred petition.
The deferred petition filed by Senthilbalaji stated that till the disposal of the case registered against Senthilbalaji by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on an allegation of promised government jobs in the transport department by receiving bribes, the framing of charges in the PMLA case may be postponed.