Chennai court dismisses Senthil Balaji's plea on bank documents

Chennai: A sessions court on Monday dismissed former Minister V Senthil Balaji's plea which sought to furnish him, missing bank documents collected by the ED as part of its money laundering probe against him.

The court also extended Senthil Balaji's remand till July 10. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14, 2023 in the money laundering case.

Principal Sessions Judge S Alli, before whom Senthil Balaji was produced by the prosecution through video-conferencing from the Central Puzhal Prison here on Monday, also extended his judicial custody till July 10.

The judge dismissed a petition filed by Senthil Balaji, which sought to furnish the missing documents in "Relied Upon Document Nos-16 and 17"---copies of counterfoil challans relating to his account which were collected by the ED in its investigation, to him.

However, the judge allowed another petition, which sought to furnish a covering letter addressed by the Manager, City Union Bank Ltd, Karur, to the ED related to his bank account, to him.

The judge posted to July 10, further hearing on another petition filed by Balaji, which sought to defer the present proceedings and adjourn the case to a later date.

Balaji was arrested by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during an earlier AIADMK regime.

His multiple bail applications have been rejected by the courts.