The Supreme Court on Tuesday strongly rebuked the Tamil Nadu government for naming 2,500 individuals as accused in a cash-for-jobs scam allegedly linked to former state minister V Senthil Balaji. The court termed the move a “complete fraud on the system,” suggesting it was a deliberate attempt to stall the trial indefinitely and ensure that Balaji never faces full legal accountability during his lifetime.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi made the remarks while hearing a petition filed by a victim of the scam. The petitioner challenged a March 28, 2025 Madras High Court order that allowed the clubbing of four separate charge sheets filed against Balaji into a single trial. The court expressed concern over the implications of merging the cases, highlighting that one set involved 2,000 accused, and another involved 500, many of whom were bribe-givers who paid money in exchange for promised government jobs that never materialized.
The bench questioned the logic behind prosecuting the bribe-givers while failing to clearly identify and prosecute the alleged middlemen, government officers who may have acted under Balaji’s instructions, and officials responsible for making the appointments. Senior advocates appearing for the Tamil Nadu government noted that more detailed information was available in a related petition not listed before the bench. The court, in response, directed that all connected matters be clubbed and heard together the following day to enable a comprehensive review.
Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan argued that the High Court had wrongly allowed the clubbing of unrelated charge sheets. He pointed out that the alleged acts of corruption pertained to distinct recruitment processes for positions such as assistant engineers, junior tradesmen, conductors, and drivers. These, he said, were improperly merged with cases concerning junior engineer appointments.
He further warned that with over 2,000 accused and 750 witnesses, even a basic cross-examination would take decades to complete—effectively rendering the legal process meaningless.
The petition emphasized that the approach taken by the state appeared designed to shield the former minister from trial. The court had earlier criticized alleged collusion between Balaji and state agencies and had invalidated compromise agreements made between the accused and complainants to ensure the trial could move forward.
June 2023: V Senthil Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Post-arrest: Continued as a minister without portfolio until February 2024.
February 2024: Resigned after the Supreme Court warned he must choose between his position and liberty.
September 2024: Secured bail from the Supreme Court.
Post-bail: Briefly reinstated as minister but stepped down again following the court’s renewed objections.
The Supreme Court is expected to delve deeper into the legality of the clubbing order, the identities and roles of those involved in the alleged scam, and whether the current procedural setup obstructs justice. The next hearings are likely to shape the course of the trial and determine whether the matter proceeds swiftly or gets lost in bureaucratic complexity.