The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the pleas of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife Megala, challenging the Madras High Court's decision to uphold his arrest in a money laundering case. The apex court also granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) five days of custody for Balaji, extending until August 12th.

A bench composed of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh also referred the matter of permissible police custody duration beyond the initial 15 days of remand to a larger bench. The court clarified that a writ of habeas corpus could not be used against an arrest by the ED, and remand orders could not be contested through such a plea.