TN minister Balaji again denied bail

Minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested on June 14 by the Enforcement Directorate in a jobs-for-cash scam, was denied bail by the Chennai principal sessions court.

"Considering the gravity of offence, overwhelming materials against the petitioner, the status of the petitioner and the fact that the petitioner has not satisfied the twin conditions of Section 45 of the PMLA the court is not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner on merits and also on medical grounds," the court said.

The court said it had to look into three factors - flight risk, influencing witnesses, and tampering with evidence.