The High Court of Madras on Tuesday passed a split verdict on whether Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister, V. Senthil Balaji, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, can be released by the High Court on the basis of a Habeas Corpus petition filed by his wife, S. Megala.
The Bench of Justice J. Nisha Banu and Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy said the matter will now be placed before Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala for further orders.
While Justice Banu rejected the ED’s plea seeking Balaji’s police custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Justice Chakravarthy held that the Habeas Corpus petition was not maintainable.
Ruling that the Habeas Corpus petition was maintainable, Justice Bhanu contended that ED was not entrusted with the powers to seek police custody under PMLA. She further dismissed the ED’s application seeking to exclude the period of treatment undergone by Balaji while calculating the period for custodial interrogation.
Justice Chakravarthy ruled that the Habeas Corpus plea was not maintainable in this case since it did not show that the arrest and detention of Balaji was illegal. The High Court judge further noted that in the present case, the petitioner had not made out a case to hold that the remand was illegal and thus, the HCP was not maintainable.
He further pointed out that since Balaji had been arrested, he has not been in the ED’s custody for even a day as he has been undergoing treatment from the day of the arrest.
The Judge directed that the period of treatment undergone by Balaji, starting from June 14 and till he gets discharged from Kauvery Hospital, should be excluded while calculating the period for custodial interrogation.
The post Senthil Balaji Habeas Corpus plea: Madras High Court delivers split verdict, matter to be placed before Chief Justice appeared first on India Legal.
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