It is for the CM to decide: SC on Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji’s removal
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The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea urging the removal of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji from the state cabinet, asserting that such decisions lie within the purview of the Chief Minister.
Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan highlighted the governor's need for the chief minister's recommendation when considering the dismissal of a minister, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the decision-making process.
This decision comes after the Madras High Court also rejected a similar plea, advising Chief Minister MK Stalin to personally address the matter. The legal battle to remove Balaji gained momentum after the Supreme Court, in November, refused to entertain his plea for bail on medical grounds. The court sided with the Madras High Court's stance that releasing Balaji could potentially influence witnesses, reinforcing the seriousness of the charges against him.
V Senthil Balaji, a minister without portfolio in the current DMK government, has been under arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). His connection to the cash-for-jobs scam, which came to light in 2015 during his tenure as a minister in the AIADMK government led by the late J Jayalalithaa, remains a focal point of the ongoing legal proceedings.