ED seeks sanction to prosecute DMK MLA Senthilbalaji

Chennai: Seven months after the then DMK govt refused to grant prosecution sanction to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the cash-for-job scam case against its minister V Senthilbalaji and others, the federal agency has again written to chief secretary M Sai Kumar, seeking a nod from the state to prosecute the ex-minister.The three-page communication, dated May 15, said its earlier prosecution sanction request dated May 14, 2025, addressed to then Governor R N Ravi, was returned on Feb 23 this year, on directions from state govt. The then chief secretary informed the governor in Oct 2025 that state govt alone was the competent authority to grant sanction to prosecute a public servant and that the ED should have written to the chief secretary directly instead of approaching the governor.Now, the ED has enclosed all relevant evidence along with a secret note on investigation and a copy of the prosecution complaint in a pen-drive handed over with the fresh letter. The communication has been duly received and acknowledged by the office of the chief secretary.The alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the transport department took place between 2011 and 2016 when Senthilbalaji was the transport minister. ED registered a case against Senthilbalaji, his brother R V Ashok Kumar, and personal assistants B Shanmugam and M Karthikeyan on charges of money-laundering, and accused them of illegal gratification from candidates seeking employment in the transport department. Senthilbalaji was arrested by the ED in the case in June 2023.While Senthilbalaji was released on bail by Supreme Court in Sept 2024, the ED filed a prosecution complaint against him before the special court for PMLA cases in the city. The trial is yet to begin as sanction from state govt is pending since he was the minister at the time of commission of the offence.