The Madras High Court on Friday (August 8, 2025) granted conditional permission to former Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthilbalaji’s brother R.V. Ashok Kumar, facing a job racket case registered by the State police and a consequent money laundering probe by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), to visit the United States for medical treatment.
Justices M.S. Ramesh and V. Lakshminarayanan granted the permission to Mr. Ashok Kumar to visit Mayo Clinic in Arizona between August 30 and September 22 on multiple conditions, which included that he should deposit ₹5 lakh, besides submitting his unmarried daughter’s passport before a sessions court.
The Bench was convinced with the submissions of senior counsel R. John Sathyan that his client, suffering from severe cardiovascular problems, including coronary artery disease, was entitled to get better treatment at a hospital of his choice, especially when the right to travel abroad had been recognised as a fundamental right.
The orders were passed on a petition filed by the former Minister’s brother before the High Court, challenging the Chennai Principal Sessions Court’s July 9, 2025 refusal to grant him permission to travel to the United States, after not finding any justifiable reason to do so.
