Senthil Balaji, a DMK minister incarcerated in Tamil Nadu, resigned after eight months of arrest

Minister V Senthil Balaji of Tamil Nadu resigned from his ministry eight months after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him. His resignation, according to sources, occurs before the Madras High Court’s February 14 bail petition hearing.

The case that led to Balaji’s arrest in June of last year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) began in 2014, when he was the transport minister in the AIADMK administration. Allegations of corruption and cash-for-job transactions during his tenure led the ED to start the probe.

Balaji has had legal difficulties since his arrest, one of which being the trial court’s denial of his bail request. Judge Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court, who is now hearing his case, has expressed disapproval of his continued service in the DMK government.

Balaji’s resignation coincides with the necessity to resolve the continuing legal complexities surrounding his tenure and growing legal pressure.

It is been claimed that Chief Minister MK Stalin, who had earlier supported Balaji in spite of his detention, has pushed Governor TN Ravi to remove him from the government. But the choice to keep Balaji in the government was criticized, particularly by the Madras High Court, which questioned if the political ramifications outweighed good administration and public morals.

A court headed by Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala had said, “Political compulsion cannot outweigh the public morality, requirements of good/clean governance, and the Constitutional morality.”

A dramatic series of events culminated in Balaji’s arrest by the ED, involving hours of interrogation and hospitalization due to chest trouble. Raids were also carried out by the Income Tax agency in relation to claims that he had accepted bribes while working for the state transportation agency.