38.6c New Delhi, India, Friday, October 24, 2025
Top Stories Supreme Court
Political NEWS Legislative Corner Celebstreet International Videos
Subscribe Contact Us
close
Judiciary

Supreme Court Requests Third Judge for Senthil Balaji's Case Following Split Verdict in Madras High Court

By Jhanak Sharma      05 July, 2023 10:17 PM      0 Comments
Supreme Court Requests Third Judge for Senthil Balaji's Case Following Split Verdict in Madras High Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Madras High Court's Chief Justice to assign a habeas corpus plea challenging arrest of Tamil Nadu's Minister Senthil Balaji to a third judge following the split verdict delivered by a division bench on July 4.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta requested the Chief Justice of the High Court to place the matter before a third judge at the earliest for a decision as early as possible.

Appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, submitted before the court that the High Court's division bench delivered the split verdict earlier on the day.

He said as the issue related to a pure question of law whether a plea of habeas corpus would lie in a case of arrest, the top court may itself decide the issue.

Mehta also submitted after the split verdict, the matter would go before a third judge in the High Court, which would take one month or so for a decision.

He also expressed his apprehension that the Minister was an influential person and there could be tampering of evidence on everyday basis and the damage caused to the investigating agency would be irreversible.

On behalf of the Minister, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat, asked how the High Court could be bypassed in this manner. They said the top court had earlier asked the High Court to decide the matter. Let the matter be examined by a third judge as per the procedure, they said.

The bench said it would ask the HC's Chief Justice to nominate a third judge to hear the plea filed by Megala, the Minister's wife.

The court also said that the pendency of the matter before it would have no bearing on the decision by the High Court.

During the hearing, the court also sought to know if the Minister would be released on bail after the split verdict. On this, Sibal said he would remain in judicial custody as per the position in law. Mehta asked the court to record this in the order. The court said he would remain in judicial custody unless decided otherwise.

The bench scheduled the matter for consideration on July 24.

In the High Court, Justice J Nisha Banu declared the Ministers arrest as illegal and held the habeas corpus petition maintainable, while Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy ruled that the plea was not maintainable, since the petitioner had not made out a case to hold that the remand was illegal.

The Minister was arrested by the ED on June 14 in a money laundering case related to cash-for-job scam during his tenure as Transport Minister between 2011 and 2016.

Immediately thereafter, the Minister complained of chest pain, he was admitted to a hospital.

Subsequently, he underwent coronary artery bypass at Chennais Kauvery Hospital.

The Supreme Court had in May allowed the CBI and the ED to quiz him in the cash-for-job case



Share this article:

About:

Jhanak is a lawyer by profession and legal journalist by passion. She graduated at the top of her cl...Read more

Follow:
FacebookTwitterLinkedinInstagram


Leave a feedback about this
Related Posts
View All

Another CBI Officer Investigating Rakesh Asthana Moves SC Against Transfer, Makes Startling Revelations Another CBI Officer Investigating Rakesh Asthana Moves SC Against Transfer, Makes Startling Revelations

After A.K. Bassi, another CBI officer who was investigating corruption allegations against Special Director Rakesh Asthana moved the Supreme Court.

Ayodhya verdict: SC rules in favour of Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board gets alternate land Ayodhya verdict: SC rules in favour of Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board gets alternate land

SC bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi has allotted the dispute site to Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, while directing the government to allot an alternate 5 acre land within Ayodhya to Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque.

Supreme Court: Money Spent On Judiciary Less Than 1% In All States Except Delhi Supreme Court: Money Spent On Judiciary Less Than 1% In All States Except Delhi

The court guided all states to document their response to the commission's report within four weeks. If any of the states fail to file a response, it will be presumed that they have no objections to the recommendations made by the commission, the court said.

Supreme Court Top Panel Names Chief Justices for Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts Supreme Court Top Panel Names Chief Justices for Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts

On April 18, 2020, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended new Chief Justices for three High Courts. Justice Dipankar Datta was proposed as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, succeeding Justice B.P. Dharmadhikari. Justice Biswanath Somadder was nominated as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, while Justice Mohammad Rafiq was recommended for transfer as Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.

TRENDING NEWS


TOP STORIES

supreme-courts-diwali-decision-sparks-debate-crackers-faith-and-fairness-bolo-bharat
Trending Videos
Supreme Court’s Diwali Decision Sparks Debate | Crackers, Faith & Fairness | Bolo Bharat

As Diwali approaches, the debate reignites over the Supreme Court’s decision permitting the use of green crackers. Is this a balanced step toward sustainable celebration, or does it reflect a tilt toward community sentiment?

18 October, 2025 08:20 PM

ADVERTISEMENT


Join Group

Signup for Our Newsletter

Get Exclusive access to members only content by email