Chennai’s Principal Sessions Court has clarified that former Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji must appear in person for hearings, rejecting his plea to relax bail conditions further.Despite recent Supreme Court relaxations, the court emphasized strict compliance during trial proceedings.
The Enforcement Directorate registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Senthil Balaji, his brother Asokumar, former aide Shanmugam, and 11 others. It stems from a cash-for-jobs scam in the Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation.
The Supreme Court granted conditional bail earlier but eased some restrictions recently. On December 16, the case came up before Judge S. Karthikeyan, with Balaji and nine others present in person.
Balaji’s counsel filed a petition citing Supreme Court relaxations to seek further easing. The court deferred the hearing after rejecting the request.Judge’s RulingBail conditions do not apply to court appearances, even if relaxed elsewhere, the judge ruled.