A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the proceedings of the case filed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in the Principal Sessions and Special Court for PMLA cases, against former Tamil Nadu minister, V Senthil Balaji, who is in prison.

A Division Bench of Justices MS Ramesh and Sunder Mohan on Wednesday told Senior Counsel Mukul Rohatgi and S Prabakaran that the plea for an interim stay could be considered only after the ED filed its counter.

The court pointed out to the advocates that a revision petition preferred by the accused person against the Sessions Court’s refusal to defer the trial was pending.

The Bench asked Additional Solicitor General, ARL Sundaresan, to make sure that the counter affidavit was filed by April 25.

The court also directed the ED’s Special Public Prosecutor, N Ramesh, to take notice on behalf of the investigating agency in the criminal revision petition.

During the argument, Senior Counsel Mukul Rohatgi insisted that the trial in the money laundering case should be deferred until the completion of the trial in the cash-for-job case.

He argued that a grave injustice would occur if the accused person gets convicted in the ED’s money laundering case and then gets acquitted from the cash-for-job case registered by the Chennai Central Crime Branch police.

Rohatgi said, “It would amount to putting the cart before the horse... Nobody can put the clock back if the petitioner is convicted and sent to jail in the money laundering case but ultimately gets acquitted in the predicate offence.”

He also pointed out that PMLA could not be invoked unless there was already a predicate offence.

The Division Bench, however, did not allow an interim stay on the basis of the arguments.