CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government on Monday urged governor RV Arlekar to clear pending files seeking sanction to prosecute exministers V Senthilbalaji and Anitha S Radhakrishnan. Enforcement Directorate (ED) had sought approval to prosecute both under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.Electricity minister R Nirmalkumar conveyed the request to the governor when he met him at Lok Bhavan on Monday, sources said. “He was urged to clear the pending files at the earliest,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity.
ED failed to get prosecution sanction during DMK rule
The official said, “The letters seeking sanction were sent in the first week of this month following a request from the ED. We hope the governor grants sanction to prosecute the former ministers.” Governor RV Arlekar left for Bengaluru on Monday night.State govt had sought sanction to prosecute Senthilbalaji and Radhakrishnan earlier this month. In both cases, the ED had made unsuccessful attempts during the previous DMK regime to obtain prosecution sanction.“A chargesheet has been filed against Senthilbalaji. We are awaiting sanction to proceed further, as Section 197 of the CrPC, now Section 217 of the BNSS, requires prior sanction when a public servant is accused of committing an offence while discharging official duties,” an ED official said.The ED has alleged that its investigation under PMLA revealed that Senthilbalaji, during his tenure as AIADMK’s transport minister, orchestrated a cash-for-jobs scam in collusion with his brother RV Ashok Kumar and personal assistants.It alleged that the former minister solicited illegal gratification from candidates seeking appointment in state transport undertakings. The central agency had also initiated proceedings against Radhakrishnan based on an FIR registered by DVAC, which accused him of amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.Incidentally, in its letter to the state last month, the ED invoked Section 218 of the BNSS, which requires sanction to be granted within 120 days of receiving a request; otherwise, it is deemed to have been granted.State assembly speaker J C D Prabhakar also called on the governor and expressed his gratitude for delivering the customary address at state assembly’s first session. Higher education minister P Viswanathan also paid a visit to Lok Bhavan.
