Jayalalithaa DA Case: SC Hearing From Feb 2
08 January, New Delhi
The Supreme Court today decided to hear the final arguments from February 2 in connection with the appeals filed by the Karnataka government against the acquittal of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and others in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.
A division bench of the Apex Court, comprising Justices Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Amitava Roy, said the hearings in the case against Jayalalithaa will start from February 2 and continue on February 3 and 4.
The court was informed by the Karnataka government counsel and senior Apex Court advocate Dushyant Dave that the hearings should be posted to February 2. Justice Ghose agreed on Dave’s argument that the DA case would be kept at the top priority in the cause list for the three days of the hearing in the month of February.
The bench said further hearings would continue as per the exigencies of the cases listed during the month.The case against Jayalalithaa and three others relates to the period from 1991 to 1996 involving Rs 66.65 crore when she became the Chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the first time.
The Special Court had held Jayalalithaa and three others guilty of corruption in the case.It sentenced her to four years’ of rigorous imprisonment besides slapping a fine of Rs 100 crore on the AIADMK chief and Rs 10 crore fine on each of the three other convicts.
The case was later transferred to the state of Karnataka.On May 11, 2015, the Karnataka HC in its verdict had acquitted Jayalalithaa in the DA case, which went on in various courts including lower court and HC for 19 years, citing that she was innocent and there were nothing incriminating against her.
Jayalalithaa, 67-year-old AIADMK veteran leader, in her defence, pleaded in various courts that she was innocent and did not commit any offence. Challenging the Karnakataka High Court’s May 11 judgement which had acquitted Jayalalithaa in the DA case, the Karnataka government on June 23 had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court saying that the HC order was “illegal and farce” and thereby the Apex Court should hear the matter.
W