The Hindu : New Delhi News : Jayalalithaa wealth cases: final hearing on July 29

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Jayalalithaa wealth cases: final hearing on July 29

J. Venkatesan

DMK’s Anbazhagan had opposed clubbing of two disproportionate assets cases against her

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday posted for final hearing on July 29 petitions filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary K. Anbazhagan opposing clubbing of two disproportionate assets cases against former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and four others by a trial court in Bangalore.

A Bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice G.S. Singhvi posted the matter for final hearing after it was pointed out that pleadings had been completed. Besides Ms. Jayalalithaa, the other accused in the two cases are her aide Sasikala, Ilavarasi, T.T.V. Dinakaran and V.N. Sudakaran.

Senior counsel T.R. Andhyarujina, appearing for Mr. Anbazhagan, said since the matter was pending for more than three years after the Supreme Court ordered that the trial be shifted from a Chennai court to Bangalore, it required urgent consideration. Additional Solicitor General Vikas Singh, appearing for Tamil Nadu, sought permission to file more documents.

Senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for Ms. Jayalalithaa submitted that Mr. Anbazhagan, Finance Minister in the State, had no locus standi to file the petitions and he wanted to take political mileage by filing these petitions. Senior counsel Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Ms. Sasikala pointed out that the appeals were filed directly against the trial court’s order by-passing the High Court. Acting on a petition from Mr. Anbazhagan, the Supreme Court, in August 2005, stayed the operation of an order passed by the Bangalore special court clubbing the disproportionate assets and London Hotel cases against Ms. Jayalalithaa and others.

Ms. Jayalalithaa justified the clubbing of the cases for joint trial. The special court, she said, ordered that the cases be merged after holding that the filing of the charge sheet was done in contravention of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

She said the special court had passed the order for joint trial since it found that the check period of the cases was the same, and that both raised common questions stemming from the same transaction. The Supreme Court should not entertain a petition at the instance of a political opponent who, she alleged, was seeking to meddle in the proceedings at every stage.

Seeking dismissal of the petition, she said the facts would establish how the prosecution had made a mockery of the process and how the powers that be had exerted pressure to harass her by clandestinely registering a second First Information Report and by filing the second charge sheet based on the same facts in a different court.

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