One of the two judges in a Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 recused himself from hearing a habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed by Minister for Electricity, Prohibition and Excise V. Senthilbalaji’s wife.
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Minister V. Senthilbalaji was arrested early on Wednesday morning and later admitted to the Government Multi Super-Specialty Hospital in Omandurar, Chennai.
Justice M. Sundar, the senior judge in the Bench, said Justice R. Sakthivel wanted to recuse himself from hearing the case and therefore it might not be possible for the Division Bench to hear the case even if it gets numbered on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
As per standing instructions issued by the High Court, with the approval of Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala, the case would now have to be listed for hearing before a Division Bench of Justices J. Nisha Banu and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy.
The Minister’s wife had moved the HCP alleging that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had not followed due procedures before arresting her husband early on Wednesday morning.
