The Madras High Court has granted conditional anticipatory bail to DMK MLA V. Senthil Balaji and his brother, Ashok Kumar. This bail is in connection with a case where they are accused of attempting to bribe a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLA with Rs 35 crore to influence his vote during a proposed no-confidence motion against the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker. Justice P. Ilanthiraiyan imposed conditions, requiring the petitioners to report to the investigating officer daily and fully cooperate with the investigation.
During the court proceedings, Senior Advocate N.R. Elango, representing Senthil Balaji, argued that the complaint was filed two days after the alleged phone call and that there was no recording of the conversation, only call detail records (CDRs) were relied upon. He claimed that the accusations, including an alleged attempt to destabilize the government, were based on assumptions. The court inquired about Balaji’s involvement, as he was not specifically named in the FIR, to which Elango stated that the prosecution’s only basis was that Balaji was in Erode on the same day as the main accused.
Senior Advocate P. Kumaresan, representing Ashok Kumar, argued that his client was falsely implicated due to being Balaji’s brother. He alleged that investigators were trying to build a case without substantial evidence. Public Prosecutor John Sathyan opposed the bail plea, stating that evidence of a conspiracy had been collected, including hotel room bookings in Chennai. Sathyan also mentioned that one of the accused had fled to Singapore and deleted CCTV footage remotely, which investigators were working to recover.
The prosecution claimed that the investigation revealed hawala transactions and new leads emerged during inquiries in Bengaluru. Sathyan emphasized that the case involved an attempt to destabilize the government at a politically sensitive time and that there was substantial evidence linking both petitioners to the alleged conspiracy. The case originated from a complaint by TVK MLA M. Elaiyaraja, who reported being offered Rs 35 crore to support a move against the Assembly Speaker and threatened if he refused. Three individuals were arrested on July 1, with police alleging that the approach to the MLA was made at the direction of Senthil Balaji and Ashok Kumar.
