Justice Mohana recuses self from hearing Senthil Balaji's bail plea
What's the story
Supreme Court Justice V Mohana has recused herself from hearing the anticipatory bail plea of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader V Senthil Balaji. The plea pertains to a new corruption case involving alleged irregularities in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation. Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi will now hear the case at 1:00pm due to its urgency.
Bail plea
Madras HC dismissed Balaji's anticipatory bail plea
The Madras High Court had earlier dismissed Balaji's anticipatory bail petition in a new FIR filed by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) in the TASMAC scam case.
Senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi, and Amit Anand Tiwari had then urged the Supreme Court bench to hear Balaji's plea urgently as he faces imminent coercive action.
Scam details
Allegations in the FIR
The new FIR alleges a large-scale scam in TASMAC, involving the allotment of shops and bars. It claims a cash-kickback scheme worth tens of crores, where bottle supply companies issued fake or inflated bills for distilleries.
TASMAC retail shops allegedly overcharged consumers systematically, collecting amounts above the maximum retail price by ₹10-100 for regular liquor and up to ₹500 for foreign liquor.
Legal argument
No custodial interrogation needed, claims Tiwari
Tiwari, appearing for Balaji, argued that no custodial interrogation was needed as the alleged incident occurred between 2021 and 2025.
Balaji also alleged that the FIR verbatim quoted the Enforcement Directorate's affidavit and petition.
The case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.