The Principal Sessions Court in Chennai has ordered former Tamil Nadu Minister V Senthilbalaji to appear before the court on Thursday for the framing of charges in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case.The order was issued by Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, who was hearing a petition filed by Senthilbalaji seeking to postpone the proceedings related to the framing of charges.
Senior counsel S Prabhakar, representing Senthilbalaji, argued that the Supreme Court had previously questioned how the framing of charges in the PMLA case could proceed while a related case filed by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) against Senthilbalaji is still pending in appeal. Based on this, he requested the court to defer the framing of charges.
However, Special Public Prosecutor N Ramesh, representing the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), countered that there is no connection between the CCB case and the PMLA case, and thus the proceedings should continue as scheduled.
During the hearing, the judge also questioned the Puzhal prison authorities on why Senthilbalaji was not physically produced in court as previously ordered. The prison authorities responded that Senthilbalaji was not in good health, leading to his appearance being arranged via video conferencing.
After recording his appearance, Judge S Alli stated that the framing of charges will proceed on August 8, regardless of whether Senthilbalaji is physically present in court or not. This development marks a significant step in the ongoing legal proceedings against the former minister.