Tamil Nadu remains on tenterhooks as former chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s appeal in the disproportionate assets case comes up in the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday. The court is likely to admit her appeal against conviction and sentence and decide on whether to grant her bail.
On September 27, a special court judge found Jayalalithaa guilty of amassing at least Rs 53 crores disproportionate to her income as chief minister between 1991 and 1996. He sentenced her to four years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore. Jayalalithaa has spent the last week at the central jail in Bangalore.
In India, bail is the norm and denial of bail is the exception, say legal experts. But the court will have many things to consider in its decision. The first is the severity of the crime. Jayalalithaa’s case is one of corruption by the highest public servant in the state. “A public servant is supposed to hold a position of trust. That trust has been breached. Considering all this only the court will decide whether bail will be granted or not,” said senior lawyer R Vaigai.
The matter of the Rs 100 crores
In the appeal, Jayalalithaa’s lawyers have also argued against the Rs 100 crore fine imposed on her by special court judge John Michael Cunha. The lawyers have called the fine arbitrary and excessive as it is twice the amount of disproportionate assets found by the court. In his judgment, Cunha explains his rationale behind the hefty fine. Although the prosecution established that Jayalalithaa has disproportionate assets worth Rs 53 crore by the end of her first term as chief minister, the judge concluded that the various assets were valued at the price at which Jayalalithaa and her associates acquired them between 1991 and 1996, not the market price. Jayalalithaa and her co-accused enjoyed the proceeds from these assets for nearly two decades over which the case dragged on.
He argues that the assets are worth much more than what the documents show as follows:
While noting that the Prevention of Corruption Act allowed for a fine to be imposed on those convicted of corruption the judge said,
The judge was very clear on the manner in which the fine can be paid. He ordered that the proceeds from fixed deposits and the cash balance in in Jayalalithaa’s bank accounts could be used to pay the fine. If the money from these sources fell short the remaining could come from the sale conducted by the Reserve Bank of India or State Bank of India of gold and diamond jewelry that was seized from Jayalalithaa and produced before the court during the trial. The government would confiscate the rest of the jewelry. The immovable properties of various shell companies floated by Jayalalithaa and her aides would be confiscated by the Tamil Nadu state government. The judge also ordered that a failure by Jayalalithaa to pay the fine would lead to an extension of her sentence by one year.
An massive show of support
Jayalalithaa’s supporters have been going all out in their demonstrations against the verdict. AIADMK MLAs in Chennai, MPs in Delhi and even the Tamil Nadu film fraternity have held protest meetings. Various instances of AIADMK supporters eating mann soru or "rice spread on the ground" to pray for their leaders release have been reported. On October 1, the IT wing of the AIADMK formed a human chain from Poes Garden, where Jayalalithaa lives to the party headquarters in Royapettah. Later, a special yagna was performed at the Sri Meenakshi temple in Madurai to pray for AIADMK chief’s release.
Meanwhile, in Bangalore police commissioner MD Reddi announced that the police was being vigilant to maintain law and order during the hearing on Tuesday. He announced the imposition of Section 144, which prevents more than 10 people assembling in an area, for a one-kilometer radius around the high court.
On September 27, a special court judge found Jayalalithaa guilty of amassing at least Rs 53 crores disproportionate to her income as chief minister between 1991 and 1996. He sentenced her to four years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore. Jayalalithaa has spent the last week at the central jail in Bangalore.
In India, bail is the norm and denial of bail is the exception, say legal experts. But the court will have many things to consider in its decision. The first is the severity of the crime. Jayalalithaa’s case is one of corruption by the highest public servant in the state. “A public servant is supposed to hold a position of trust. That trust has been breached. Considering all this only the court will decide whether bail will be granted or not,” said senior lawyer R Vaigai.
The matter of the Rs 100 crores
In the appeal, Jayalalithaa’s lawyers have also argued against the Rs 100 crore fine imposed on her by special court judge John Michael Cunha. The lawyers have called the fine arbitrary and excessive as it is twice the amount of disproportionate assets found by the court. In his judgment, Cunha explains his rationale behind the hefty fine. Although the prosecution established that Jayalalithaa has disproportionate assets worth Rs 53 crore by the end of her first term as chief minister, the judge concluded that the various assets were valued at the price at which Jayalalithaa and her associates acquired them between 1991 and 1996, not the market price. Jayalalithaa and her co-accused enjoyed the proceeds from these assets for nearly two decades over which the case dragged on.
He argues that the assets are worth much more than what the documents show as follows:
“That was the time when the accused could buy 900 acres of plantation land for Rs 7.5 crores and ordinary agricultural land for just Rs.10,000/- per acre. At that rate, entire village could have been purchased for Rs 53 crores. The magnitude of the assets acquired by the accused have to be viewed in that background. Even otherwise, the total extent of the land purchased by the accused either in their individual names or in the name of the firms and companies comes to nearly 3000 acres and the present market value of it is left to our imagination.”
While noting that the Prevention of Corruption Act allowed for a fine to be imposed on those convicted of corruption the judge said,
“When the Legislature intends to eradicate corruption by providing for deterrent punishment, it is the duty of the Court to effectuate the purpose of the Act.”
The judge was very clear on the manner in which the fine can be paid. He ordered that the proceeds from fixed deposits and the cash balance in in Jayalalithaa’s bank accounts could be used to pay the fine. If the money from these sources fell short the remaining could come from the sale conducted by the Reserve Bank of India or State Bank of India of gold and diamond jewelry that was seized from Jayalalithaa and produced before the court during the trial. The government would confiscate the rest of the jewelry. The immovable properties of various shell companies floated by Jayalalithaa and her aides would be confiscated by the Tamil Nadu state government. The judge also ordered that a failure by Jayalalithaa to pay the fine would lead to an extension of her sentence by one year.
An massive show of support
Jayalalithaa’s supporters have been going all out in their demonstrations against the verdict. AIADMK MLAs in Chennai, MPs in Delhi and even the Tamil Nadu film fraternity have held protest meetings. Various instances of AIADMK supporters eating mann soru or "rice spread on the ground" to pray for their leaders release have been reported. On October 1, the IT wing of the AIADMK formed a human chain from Poes Garden, where Jayalalithaa lives to the party headquarters in Royapettah. Later, a special yagna was performed at the Sri Meenakshi temple in Madurai to pray for AIADMK chief’s release.
Meanwhile, in Bangalore police commissioner MD Reddi announced that the police was being vigilant to maintain law and order during the hearing on Tuesday. He announced the imposition of Section 144, which prevents more than 10 people assembling in an area, for a one-kilometer radius around the high court.
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