Madras High Court questions continuation of Senthil Balaji as Minister with out portfolio
On Tuesday (5 September), the Madras High Court expressed its dissatisfaction over the continuation of arrested DMK chief V Senthil Balaji as Minister with out portfolio within the Tamil Nadu authorities. The courtroom noticed that his continuance as a Minister with no portfolio within the MK Stalin-led Tamil Nadu cabinet serves no function, PTI reported.
The courtroom added that this doesn’t augur effectively with the ideas of excellent governance, purity in administration, and constitutional ethos.
#MadrasHighCourt refrains from passing orders on #SenthilBalaji persevering with as Minister with out portfolio. Says, it is the CM’s prerogative.
CJ Gangapurwala provides although that the minister persevering with with out portfolio doesn’t augur effectively with constitutional ethos.
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) September 5, 2023
BREAKING: #MadrasHC leaves it to TN CM to take a name on continuation of #SenthilBalaji as Minister with out portfolio. Adds that his continuation with out portfolio doesn’t augur effectively with purity of administration & constitutional ethos. pic.twitter.com/tKUFjju0R7
— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) September 5, 2023
However, the primary bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice P D Audikesavalu left it to the Tamil Nadu CM to determine on the continuance of V Senthil Balaji in ministry. The bench acknowledged that this determination falls throughout the prerogative of the Chief Minister. Subsequently, the courtroom dismissed the petitions filed by two advocates and former AIADMK MP Dr J Jayavardhan.
Earlier, the petitioners, via their quo warranto petitions, questioned below what authority Balaji was holding the submit of a Minister with out portfolio.
According to the petitioners, the excessive courtroom, below Article 226 of the Constitution, has the ability to declare an individual unfit to carry a submit.
The petitioners stated, “When a person becomes a disgrace to a post, the court can very well declare him unfit to the post. While the chief minister was right in removing Senthil Balaji’s portfolios after his arrest, he erred in allowing him to continue as a minister.”
However, the Tamil Nadu authorities opposed the plea. It argued that an individual couldn’t be disqualified from holding the submit for the sake of registration of an FIR. It added that until an individual was convicted of an offence, she or he was not disqualified from holding the submit of a minister.
Senthil Balaji, who serves as a minister within the DMK authorities, was detained on June 14 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in reference to a cash-for-jobs scheme. Currently, he’s in judicial custody at Puzhal Central Prison Hospital.
Meanwhile, on August 13, ED arrested his brother RV Ashok in reference to the cash laundering case from Kerala’s Kochi. Reportedly, Ashok had skipped a number of summons despatched by the central probing company prompting his arrest.
Ashok was arrested by the identical ED crew, which has been probing the minister’s case. Before his arrest, ED officers filed a 3000-page chargesheet towards Tamil Nadu Minister Senthil Balaji.
