BREAKING | Madras High Court Grants Anticipatory Bail To DMK's Senthil Balaji Accused Of Offering ₹35 Crore Bribe To TVK MLA

The Madras High Court on Wednesday (July 8) granted anticipatory bail to DMK MLA Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok Kumar in a case lodged over allegations of offering ₹35 crore bribe to a TVK MLA in an alleged attempt to influence his vote for Assembly Speaker.

The court granted anticipatory bail to Balaji and his brother, subject to certain conditions. The court further asked the petitioners to appear before the investigating officer daily until further orders and cooperate with the investigation. 

Appearing for Balaji, Senior Advocate NR Elango submitted that the complaint was made 2 days after the alleged phone call. He said that there is no recording of the call, only CDR records. 

Elango said that the allegations against Balaji were presumptions including that there was an "attempt to topple the government". 

At this stage, Justice Ilanthiraiyan asked, "What's your role? As per FIR, there's nothing". To which Elango said that the prosecution had only one piece that Balaji was in Erode on the same day as the prime accused. 

He said that Tamil Magazines were reporting that state wants to implicate the petitioner to prevent him from discharging his duties, as the Karur by-election was coming up.

Senior Advocate P Kumaresan appearing for Ashok Kumar submitted that he is being implicated only because he is Balaji's brother. He also added that the police is attempting to develop the case.

Meanwhile Public Prosecutor John Sathyan appearing for the State submitted that there was material to show that the accused persons had committed conspiracy by booking rooms in Chennai. He said one of the accused persons had absconded to Singapore and had remotely deleted footages which the prosecution is trying to retrieve now.

"This case is not about persons in a party forming government. It's about attempt to destabilize a government when it was in a crucial point...He(Ashok kumar) has been named in the FIR. There's material to show their involvement. This investigation has led the team to Bangalore where more is to be revealed," he added. 

He said that there seemed to be hawala money involved adding that the prosecution had "strong material to show it". He added that there was also material against Balaji. 

On June 26, the complainant Elaiyaraja had given a complaint in the Triplicane Police Station alleging that he was contacted over the phone by a person named Thirunavukkarassu who informed Elaiyaraja that a major political party would be moving a resolution against the Speaker in the Assembly and urged Elaiyaraja to vote in their favour. It was submitted that Elaiyaraja was offered Rs 35 Crore for the same, and he was threatened with dire consequences if he did not act in a particular manner.

On July 1, three persons were arrested by the police in connection with the case. The police later said that, as per the investigation, Elaiyaraja was contacted at the behest of Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok Kumar.

In his plea seeking anticipatory bail, Balaji argued that even as per the FIR, he has not been named as an accused. It was argued that he was dragged into the matter only by a later political extension of the FIR story, and not by any fact found in the FIR itself.

Balaji argued that there was no material to show that he had contacted Elaiyaraja, sent any message, authorised the caller, met the complainant, deputed any person, arranged or handled any money, issued any threat or participated in any conspiracy. Thus, it was argued that there was no essential connecting link between him and the alleged crime.

He has also pointed out that the apprehension of political motive was fortified by a recent statement made by the Sports Minister Aadhav Arjuna, wherein the Minister said that there were "scores to settle" in connection with the Karur tragedy. Thus, he argued that the present case is an attempt to connect Balahji with the case especially at the time of Karur bye-elections.

Balaji in his plea has argued that arrested persons were being pressured to implicate Balaji and his brother by making allegations of corruption and horse trading. He added that the allegations of coercive investigation were also brought to the notice of the Sessions Judge at the remand stage. Thus, he argued that any custody statement made by the accused cannot be treated as a safe foundation for arrest unless supported by independent, objective and legally permissible evidence.

Caste Title: V Senthil Balaji v The State

Case No: Crl OP 17765 of 2026