In a relief to arrested Tamil Nadu minister V. Senthil Balaji, the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the plea by a social activist seeking his removal from the state cabinetv saying the Governor needs the consent of the chief minister to dismiss a minister from his post and cannot act independently in such matters.
The SC agreed with the judgment of the Madras High Court and refused to direct DMK leader Balaji’s removal. The Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said that “no interference is called for under Article 136” in connection with the money laundering case, in which he is arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
He was arrested in June last year in the case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam when he was the Transport Minister during an earlier AIADMK regime. The bench orally observed that a governor cannot dismiss a minister without the recommendation of the CM, reported LiveLaw.
The Special Leave petition was filed by M.L. Ravi. Earlier the petition, seeking his removal, was dismissed by the Madras High Court saying the decision is left with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to take a call on Balaji’s continuation in the TN Cabinet as a minister without portfolio.
“The Chief Minister of the State of Tamil Nadu may be well advised to take a decision about the continuance of V.Senthil Balaji (who is in judicial custody) as a minister without portfolio, which serves no purpose and which does not augur well with the Principles of Constitutional ethos on goodness, good governance and purity in administration,” the Madras High Court had said.
Meanwhile, a sessions court on Thursday extended Balaji’s remand till January 11.In his plea filed before the Madras High Court, the petitioner, advocate ML Ravi, questioned the propriety of Senthil Balaji continuing in the cabinet even after he was sent to judicial custody in a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The litigant contended that as per Article 164 of the Constitution, ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor as he asked how could the Tamil Nadu government go against the will of the Governor and allow a person in judicial custody to continue as a minister?
