ED's reply sought on Senthilbalaji's brother's plea over lookout notice

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its response to the petition filed by former minister Senthilbalaji's brother, RV Ashok Kumar, seeking withdrawal of the lookout notice issued against him.

The ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against former minister Senthilbalaji, his brother Ashok Kumar, and others, alleging that they committed fraud by collecting money in promise of government jobs.

Following this, the ED issued a Lookout Notice against Ashok Kumar after the agency arrested the then minister Senthilbalaji. To get this lookout notice withdrawn, Ashok Kumar filed a petition in the Madras High Court.

The petition came up for hearing before Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan. During the hearing, Ashok Kumar's counsel argued that the lookout notice was issued at the early stage of the investigation, and that there is no justification for its continuation even after the chargesheet has been filed.

It was further submitted that since Ashok Kumar has been regularly appearing for the inquiry and fully cooperating, the lookout notice should be withdrawn.

The judges then questioned the ED on the reason for issuing the Lookout Notice. Responding to this, the ED's counsel said that the notice was issued to prevent him from fleeing abroad. The ED also submitted that despite sending nine notices, Ashok Kumar had failed to appear for the inquiry.

Asking whether the lookout notice still needs to continue, the judges directed the ED to file a response to the petition and adjourned the hearing for three weeks.