Senthil Balaji gets anticipatory bail in ₹35 crore TVK MLA bribery case

The Madras High Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to DMK MLA Senthil Balaji and his brother Ashok Kumar in the alleged ₹35 crore bribery case linked to a TVK MLA.

The court protected the two from arrest but directed them to appear before the investigating officer every day until further orders and fully cooperate with the probe.

The case is related to allegations that a TVK MLA was offered ₹35 crore to influence his vote in the election for the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker.

Defence and prosecution present their arguments

During the hearing, Balaji's lawyer argued that the complaint was filed two days after the alleged phone call and that there was no audio recording of the conversation.

According to the defence, investigators were relying only on call detail records and assumptions rather than direct evidence.

The lawyer also pointed out that Balaji was not named in the original FIR and said his name was added later without any clear proof.

He told the court that the only material against Balaji was that he was present in Erode on the same day as one of the accused.

The defence further claimed that the case was politically motivated and was intended to prevent Balaji from carrying out his political duties ahead of the Karur by-election.

Ashok Kumar's lawyer argued that his client had been dragged into the case only because he is Balaji's brother and alleged that police were trying to build the case during the investigation.

The State, however, opposed the bail plea, saying investigators had gathered material suggesting the accused were part of a larger conspiracy. The prosecution told the court that hotel rooms had been booked in Chennai as part of the alleged plan and claimed one accused had fled to Singapore and remotely deleted CCTV footage, which investigators are trying to recover.

The State also alleged that hawala money may have been used in the case and said more evidence was expected to emerge from the ongoing investigation, including leads from Bengaluru.

The case began after TVK MLA M Elaiyaraja lodged a complaint on June 26. He alleged that he received a phone call from a man identified as Thirunavukkarassu, who allegedly offered him ₹35 crore to vote in favour of a planned move against the Assembly Speaker and threatened him with serious consequences if he refused. Three people were arrested on July 1, after which police linked the alleged conspiracy to Senthil Balaji and Ashok Kumar.