A Bench said that transferring the case to a place outside Tamil Nadu and setting up a dedicated court to hear it on a day-to-day basis would even benefit V. Senthilbalaji. File
The Supreme Court on Monday (October 6, 2025) orally mooted a suggestion to transfer the cash-for-jobs scam case involving former Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthilbalaji, who is facing money-laundering charges, to another State or to Delhi.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said transferring the case to a place outside Tamil Nadu and setting up a dedicated court to hear it on a day-to-day basis would even benefit Mr. Senthilbalaji. “If he is found innocent, he can go back and resume his public life and hold positions in government,” Justice Kant addressed senior advocates A.M. Singhvi and Amit Anand Tiwari, appearing for Tamil Nadu.
Suggestion opposed
Both senior counsel vehemently opposed the suggestion, saying it would show the State’s judiciary in a bad light.
However, Justice Kant reasoned that during the trial of a sensitive case, the atmosphere in the home State would usually suffer from a “charged atmosphere”, with the Opposition parties accusing the government of favouritism, delay and bias.
“Allegations are bound to come every day. If the trial is started at any other place, witnesses can depose online. We can direct a dedicated court to take up the case on a day-to-day basis. This gentleman, who is a public figure, if he is finally found to be falsely accused, could go on to resume his public position,” Justice Kant observed orally.
Mr. Singhvi said that though the suggestion from the Bench was bonafide, it could be misconstrued in the media. The public would misunderstand that the Supreme Court had lost faith in the State judiciary of Tamil Nadu. He sought time to respond to the suggestion.
‘Rudderless ship’
In July, the court had asked Tamil Nadu to explain its “prosecutorial plan” after orally observing that the arraignment of 2,000-odd people as accused in the case resembled a “rudderless ship”. The court had questioned whether Tamil Nadu was trying to delay the trial by incriminating over 2,000 people as accused.
Published – October 06, 2025 10:50 pm IST
