SC asks Madras HC to place Tamil Nadu minister's plea before 3-judge bench

The Supreme Court has asked the Madras high court to have a 3-judge bench to expeditiously hear the habeas corpus petition of arrested Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji's wife following a split verdict pronounced earlier in the day by a divison bench. SC bench of justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta also told the HC chief justice that Balaji's petition should be decided at the earliest.

A division bench of justices J Nisha Banu and D Bharatha Chakravarthy of the HC had on Tuesday pronounced the split verdict on the habeas corpus petition filed by Balaji's wife against her husband's detention. Justice Banu favoured the release of Balaji, but Justice Chakravarthy ruled against it. The division bench also directed the registry to place the matter before the chief justice for assigning it to a three-judge bench.

In the SC, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, told the top court bench that since a split verdict has been pronounced by the HC, the matter be transferred to the apex court for final adjudication. "My difficulty is that every day there would be tampering of evidence. There is a pure question of law and none of the facts are disputed. Only question is whether a habeas corpus petition can be filed on a judicial remand," Mehta said.


Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Balaji, said that after a split verdict by a division bench, the matter is placed before a three-judge bench and opposed Mehta's request. How can the HC be bypassed, he asked.