V. Senthilbalaji. File
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 29, 2025) questioned if the State of Tamil Nadu was trying to delay the trial in the cases of cash-for-jobs “scam” involving former State Minister V. Senthilbalaji by incriminating more than 2,000 people as accused.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi called for listing all pending cases involving the former Minister before the Supreme Court and posted them for hearing on Wednesday (July 30, 2025).
“We would like to know that besides the Minister, who were the alleged brokers or middlemen? Who were the officers who acted on the recommendations of the Minister? Who were the members of the selection committee? Who were the authorities who gave the appointment?” the Bench observed.
The Bench queried whether individuals compelled to pay for jobs were now being arraigned as accused.
“You (State) are more keen to prosecute them so that in the entire lifetime of the Minister, the trial proceedings never come to an end. This is your modus operandi,” the Bench observed.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Y. Balaji, challenging a Madras High Court order of March 28 dismissing pleas against clubbing of multiple chargesheets in cases related to the alleged scam.
According to a report filed in the apex court by a trial judge in April, there are around 2,300 accused in cases involving the former Tamil Nadu Minister in the cash-for-jobs “scam”.
Mr. Senthilbalaji had resigned from the government in April after being pulled up by the court.
Published – July 29, 2025 08:57 pm IST
