A view of the Madras High Court. File
| Photo Credit: K. Pichumani
Two arrested accused in the case relating to an alleged attempt to bribe ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) MLAs, have approached the Madras High Court seeking bail. Earlier, the principal district and sessions court in Chennai had refused to grant them the relief on July 17, 2026 as the investigation was at a crucial stage and the huge Hawala transactions involved in the crime was yet to be unearthed fully.
Justice G.K. Ilanthiraiyan, holding the MP/MLA portfolio, would hear the bail petition filed by S. Karthik of Tiruppur and T. Ramesh of Karur on Monday (July 27) since former DMK Minister and sitting Coimbatore South MLA V. Senthilbalaji was one of the suspects who has been accused of offering a bribe of ₹35 crore for every TVK MLA besides a commission of ₹5 crore to middlemen who succeed in poaching them.
The petitioners, arrayed as the seventh and eighth accused in the case, had told the sessions court their names did not find place in the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Triplicane police in Chennai on June 30 on the basis of a complaint lodged by Uthangarai TVK MLA N. Elaiyaraja. Yet, they were arrested solely on the basis of the investigation conducted by the police.
Though the offences for which the petitioners had been booked would lead to a maximum punishment of seven years of imprisonment, the police had chosen to arrest them without calling them for inquiry by issuing notices under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Surasksha Sanhita, they complained. They also accused the police of not having produced them before a judicial magistrate within 24 hours of their arrest.
Further, alleging the police had threatened and compelled them to give a confession implicating Mr. Senthilbalaji and his brother R.V. Ashok Kumar in the case, the petitioners said, the brothers were mere acquaintances with whom they had no monetary, business, political or any other transaction. Since custodial interrogation had also taken place in the case, they urged the court to enlarge them on bail.
On the other hand, the prosecution told the court the petitioners had participated actively in the planning and execution of the conspiracy to destablise the government and they played a vital role in facilitating the illegal activities. They had participated in various meetings held at different hotels in Chennai city and exchanged scanned copies of ₹100 and ₹20 notes to be used for Hawala transactions.
The prosecution also claimed to have recovered several lakh rupees from the residences of different accused involved in the crime and feared grant of bail to the two accused at this stage might lead to tampering of evidence and frustrating the investigation. After recording the submissions, Sessions Judge S. Karthikeyan had dismissed their bail plea and hence the petitioners had now approached the High Court.
Published – July 26, 2026 04:20 pm IST
