SC adjourns former TN minister's bail plea

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned till May 6 the hearing on the bail plea of former Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last year in connection with a money laundering case. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan deferred the matter after a lawyer appearing for the agency sought an adjournment saying Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was not available. Senior advocate Aryama Sundaram, appearing for Balaji, urged the bench to hear the matter and contended that he had been inside jail for 320 days. The bench said it has not gone through ED's reply in the case and posted the matter for hearing on May 6. The top court on April 1 sought a response from the ED on Balaji's bail plea while issuing notice to the agency.