NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has rejected a review petition against its September 26 judgment which allowed bail to former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji in a money laundering case in connection with the cash for jobs scam.
Supreme Court Upholds Bail for Senthil Balaji in Money Laundering Case
In an order of December 17, 2024, a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih found no ground to reconsider its previous judgment, though the court pointed out an application for recall of the order was already pending consideration before it separately.
Dealing with the review petition filed by Y Balaji, the bench, however, said, "Having gone through the review petition and the connected papers, we do not find any ground to review the order sought to be reviewed. There is no error apparent on the face of the record."
SC Rejects Review Plea, Highlights Fundamental Right to Speedy Trial
As per SC Rules, the review petition is examined in chamber by judges only through the circulation of papers in absence of lawyers.
In its order, the court specified, "an application for recall of the same order is pending which is being heard by the court."
In its September 26 judgment, the court had said constitutional courts cannot allow the Enforcement Directorate to use stringent bail conditions as a tool to incarcerate an accused without trial in violation of his fundamental right to speedy trial.
The top court had ordered release of Balaji, arrested on June 14, 2923 in cases, arising out of cash for jobs scam, on bail after noting the DMK leader was in jail for 15 months of incarceration with no possibility of completion of trial in a few years.
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The court had then also said the constitutional courts cannot allow provisions like Section 45(1)(ii) (containing stringent conditions of bail) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to become instruments in the hands of the Enforcement Directorate to continue incarceration for a long time when there is no possibility of a trial of the scheduled offence and the PMLA offence concluding within a reasonable time.
"If the appellant's detention is continued, it will amount to an infringement of his fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India of speedy trial," the bench had said.
The court had also said the requirement of expeditious disposal of cases must be read into the statutes.
Subsequent to it, hearing an application filed by K Vidhya Kumar, the court has expressed its suprise over induction of Balaji into Tamil Nadu cabinet, immediately after the bail.
The court on December 20, issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government seeking information on cases pending against Balaji and the number of witnesses to be examined in the matter. "The State will also place on record how many victims of the offences and the public servants are the witnesses," the court asked, fixing the matter for consideration on January 15, 2025.
