New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed pleas of Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji and his wife Megala challenging the Madras High Court order upholding his arrest in a money laundering case.

A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh also referred to a large bench the issue that police custody is not permissible beyond first 15 days of remand.

Balaji, who continues to be a minister without portfolio in the Tamil Nadu government even after his arrest on June 14, and his wife assailed a Madras High Court order upholding his arrest by the probe agency in a money laundering case arising out of the alleged cash-for-jobs scam in the state’s transport department.