New Delhi, Jul 30 The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Friday a plea of former minister and DMK leader V Senthil Balaji seeking anticipatory bail in a corruption case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC).
Earlier in the day, the Madras High Court dismissed the anticipatory bail petition of Balaji in the fresh FIR lodged by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption in the TASMAC scam case.
Soon after the denial of pre-arrest bail, the top court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant was urged by senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi and Amit Anand Tiwari on behalf of the DMK leader that his plea be listed for urgent hearing as he faces imminent coercive action.
The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said that it will be listed on Friday.
According to the fresh FIR, a large-scale scam took place in TASMAC in the allotment of shops and bars.
It was alleged by Balaji that the FIR quoted verbatim the affidavit of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the petition filed by the anti-money laundering probe agency before the Supreme Court.
In fact, the FIR itself at various places says that it is from the counter affidavit and petition of the ED, the plea said.
"Our contention is that the FIR is for the incident said to have been committed between 2021 and 2025. I am at no flight risk; no custodial interrogation required. I was the minister of the department and Tasmac is a corporation independent in existence and functioning," said senior advocate Tirwari.
"There is no direct role or connection. It is political vendetta.
"Also, it is interference with the pending proceeding before the Supreme Court inasmuch as the petition filed by TASMAC and the state of Tamil Nadu in which the ED has filed the said counter affidavit, which is the basis of the FIR, there is a stay of investigation against Tasmac and no coercive action order. Reliance on such an affidavit of a pending matter is interference with the judicial proceeding," the senior lawyer said.
The plea said it was diametrically opposite to the earlier stand taken by the state government in the matter.
