TN govt seeks governor’s nod to prosecute Senthilbalaji in cash-for-jobs case

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu govt has sought governor R V Arlekar’s sanction to let Enforcement Directorate (ED) prosecute former minister V Senthilbalaji in the cash-for-jobs case, highly placed sources said.Sources said the file was sent to Lok Bhavan early this week after chief minister C Joseph Vijay approved it. “Since he was a minister, the sanctioning authority is the governor. If he approves the file, a govt order will be issued soon,” said an official.ED has filed a prosecution complaint under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before a special court against Senthilbalaji, alleging money laundering linked to the cash-for-jobs scam in transport corporations during his tenure as a minister in the AIADMK regime during 2011-2016. In May last year, ED sought sanction from then governor R N Ravi. Although the request was forwarded to the state govt by Lok Bhavan, the govt returned it in Oct, saying the letter should have been sent directly to the state govt and not routed through the governor. In a letter to chief secretary M Saikumar last month, ED said the sanction process was being delayed because Senthilbalaji was a part of the previous DMK govt.Official sources said that similar files seeking sanction to prosecute former ministers are also pending with Lok Bhavan. “Technically, as the appointing authority, the governor should give sanction. In the case of former CM J Jayalalithaa, the governor had given sanction,” an official said. ED has submitted to the chief secretary a confidential note on the investigation and the prosecution complaint dated August 12, 2023, filed against Senthilbalaji before special court (PMLA) in Chennai, along with documents on a pen drive.The previous DMK govt had argued that the state govt’s sanction is needed to prosecute if the person was a minister at the time of commission of the alleged offence under PMLA, and the governor cannot decide the matter suo motu.