Politics and law may be inseparable, but the first can sometimes outweigh the other, especially when it comes to prosecuting political leaders. An example of this is the increased activity of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Tamil Nadu. Soon after the arrest of V. Senthilbalaji, He is now a minister without portfolio in the DMK regime and there is a legal dispute over the legality of his arrest and remand. Another high-profile minister, K. ponmudi, is under the scanner of ED. While the agency may have good reason to investigate and prosecute him, it appears that he has been singled out for such action from among several state political functionaries against whom investigations are pending. Mr. Senthilbalaji, who has now been shifted from a private hospital to a prison in Chennai, and both Shri Ponmudi, Minister of Higher EducationSerious allegations were made. Mr. Senthilbalaji was caught in a cash-for-job scam During his tenure as transport minister in the previous AIADMK regime, he tried to get away with it after intermediaries “returned” money allegedly collected from job aspirants. However, court orders have kept the investigation alive. In the case of Mr. Ponmudi, he is accused of allowing red sand quarrying in excess of the permissible limit between 2007 and 2011 as the Minister of Mines and Mineral Resources; and giving mining licenses to his son, friends and relatives.
The ED registered the picture to probe possible money laundering in handling the proceeds of crimes. The agency has successfully avoided a formidable challenge to the legality of Mr. Senthilbalaji’s arrest and remand, but it must do more to put all the facts in the public domain to show that its actions were justified. However, barring a few court-ordered CBI probes and Income Tax proceedings, central agencies are doing little to pursue charges against members of the erstwhile AIADMK regime. The issue of granting CBI sanction to prosecute former AIADMK ministers is “under legal consideration”, according to the Tamil Nadu governor, while the Union Home Ministry has given sanction in respect of two former IPS officers in the same case. It would be difficult to credit central agencies for taking timely action against corruption if only parties identified with the opposition are brought under scrutiny. Dishonesty among political leaders is a fact concerning some and all people in public life suffer from it. Therefore, agencies statutorily empowered to investigate and prosecute must demonstrate their impartiality and objectivity if their searches, raids and arrests are to gain credibility among the public.