Supreme Court: Providing a major relief to Jayalalitha in the high profile disproportionate assets case, the 3 Judge Bench comprising H.L. Dattu, C.J. and M.B. Lokur and A.K. Sikri, JJ. granted her bail on executing a bond with two solvent sureties and also suspended the co-accused’s sentence passed by the Session’s Judge, Bangalore. Senior Counsels F.S. Nariman and K.T.S. Tulsi represented the petitioners.
As the facts say, J. Jayalalitha was accused of misusing her position as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and during her tenure in 1991-95 acquired properties disproportionate to the known income. The case hit the headlines when on 27.09.2014 the Session’s Judge Bangalore convicted her and imposed heavy fine of Rs.100 crores. The petitioner was further dismayed when the Karnataka High Court on 07.10.2014 upheld the sentence of the Session’s Court and refused to grant her bail terming it to be a case of systematic corruption indirectly violating human rights and a danger to the health of the polity.
J. Jayalalithaa v. State of Tamil Nadu, Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 7900 of 2014, decided on 17.10.2014