During the hearing on Monday, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Balaji, argued that the investigation was complete and the complaint had been filed before the Special Court, making the twice-weekly appearance unnecessary. He stressed that Balaji had never absconded and had appeared before the ED on 116 occasions.

Lawyer Zoheb Hossain, appearing for the ED, opposed the relaxation, saying the conditions were imposed due to the seriousness of the crime.

“The conditions were imposed by the Supreme Court’s order of September 2024, which granted him bail in the money laundering case related to the cash-for-jobs scam,” he said.

He argued that the stringent conditions had ensured smooth progress of the trial and should remain unchanged.

The bench, however, questioned the insistence on twice-weekly appearances. “A man is going before you every Monday and Friday; he has a cup of tea with your officer. Is this necessary?” CJI Kant asked.

Balaji had approached the Supreme Court in October, stating that he had complied with all conditions for 13 months, made 116 appearances before the ED, that the PMLA trial had begun, and that predicate offences were still at the summons stage. He sought relaxation of the bail conditions.