Jayalalithaa Acquitted In Disproportionate Assets Case

11 May, Bengaluru

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has been acquitted by the Karnataka High Court in the disproportionate assets case against her. The Verdict comes on the appeal filed by Ms. Jayalalitha and three others including her aide Sasikala in the case.

The single judge bench of Justice C R Kumaraswamy delivered the judgement, just a day ahead of the three-month deadline set by the Supreme Court to complete the hearing on appeals by her and three others. Today’s judicial outcome will swing the political fortunes in favour of the ruling AIADMK supremo in Tamil Nadu which will go to Assembly polls in about a year.

A trial court had on September 27 last year verdict sentenced Jayalalitha and three others to four years in jail and imposed a hefty fine of 100 crore rupees on her and 10 crore rupees each on three others.

Following the conviction Ms. Jayalalitha had obtained conditional bail and was released. Jayalalithaa had been charged with accumulating Rs 66.65 crore wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income from 1991-96 in her first term as Chief Minister in the case. Her close aide Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi and her nephew and Jayalalithaa’s disowned foster son Sudhakaran were the three others held guilty by the special court.