A petition has been submitted to the Supreme Court contesting the judgment of the Madras High Court on September 5, 2023. This legal action follows the arrest of V Senthil Balaji, the current Electricity Minister of Tamil Nadu, by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14, 2023. The Madras High Court had ruled that there is no existing legislation governing the removal of a Minister who is in custody.

The petitioner, social activist M L Ravi from Chennai, has submitted a special leave petition challenging the dismissal of his plea by the Madras High Court. Ravi sought to quash the letter issued by the Governor on June 29, 2023, which put on hold a letter from the same day dismissing Balaji as a minister. Ravi argues that the Governor lacks the authority to reconsider, review, or modify his own order. The petitioner also criticizes the High Court for merely advising the Chief Minister without taking decisive action, especially when the Governor expressed displeasure over Balaji's continuance due to moral turpitude.

Ravi contends that the High Court made an error in stating that there is no legislation regarding the removal of a Minister in custody. He emphasizes that the court should interpret and address such situations based on precedent until legislation is enacted. The petitioner raises concerns about the Governor's discretionary power to withdraw pleasure in relation to a Minister and questions whether the High Court overlooked the requirement for the Governor to exercise such discretion with the Chief Minister's knowledge.

The case against Balaji involves allegations of involvement in a job racket during his tenure as the Transport Minister in Jayalalithaa's Cabinet (2011-15). The racket purportedly involved seeking bribes for jobs in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation. Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14 and was in judicial custody until June 28. Subsequently, he was admitted to the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Specialty Hospital in Chennai for a medical checkup, where he was advised to undergo CABG-Bypass surgery due to chest pain.

Case: ML Ravi vs. Principal Secretary to Governor, Government of Tamil Nadu and others.