Day After ED Says Senthil Balaji 'Feigning Illness', Health Minister Ma Subramanian Says He Will Undergo Surgery Tomorrow

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian today (20 June) said that Senthil Balaji would undergo heart surgery tomorrow (21 June).

This comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in a petition filed before the Supreme Court, accused Senthil Balaji of feigning illness immediately upon his arrest and getting himself admitted to a hospital in order to make the investigation ineffective.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the ED said that the agency wanted Balaji in its custody soon after he was released from the hospital and the period spent by him in the hospital should not be considered as effective custody.

According to Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, an accused can be held in police custody for a maximum of 15 days, from the date of arrest. Following this period, the accused is sent to judicial custody.

The ED had arrested him on 14 June and it has not been able to question him since then because the Principal Sessions Court had stated the agency could question him only in the hospital after taking doctors' advice. The court had granted eight days custody which is about to end.

It has also challenged the decision of the Madras High Court to hear a habeas corpus plea filed by his wife, stating that the agency had arrested him legally and obtained remand.

The Supreme Court had agreed to hear the matter on 21 June, which is the date of surgery announced by Subramanian.