M A I N   N E W S

Police opposes Jaya’s stay plea

Chennai, April 9
The Tamil Nadu police today opposed in the Madras High Court a petition by AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalitha seeking a stay of her conviction in corruption cases and contended that the apex court did not favour persons guilty of moral turpitude contesting elections.

Following the Election Commission’s announcement of the date of elections for the state Assembly, the AIADMK supremo has moved the Madras High Court under Section 389 Cr.PC, (dealing with pleas against convictions), for a stay on her conviction to overcome her ineligibility to contest the poll under the Representation of the People’s Act (RPA).

On October 9 last year, Special Judge P. Anbazhagan had sentenced her to two prison terms of three and two years, respectively, in two corruption cases involving land belonging to the state-owned Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (Tansi).

When the petition seeking the stay came up for hearing before Justice Malai Subramaniam of the Madras High Court, counsel for the prosecution N. Natarajan, cited various rulings of the apex court to show that the court was not in favour of persons guilty of offences involving moral turpitude contesting elections.

Stating that according to the apex court ‘corruption in public life was one of the most heinous crimes’, Natarajan said corruption in a civilised society was a disease like cancer which, if not nipped in the bud, would cause turbulence and shake democracy itself.

Arguments by counsel for prosecution and defence on the petition will continue tomorrow.

Referring to Section 8 (3) of the RPA which debars a person sentenced to a term of two years and above from contesting elections for six years from the date of conviction, Natarajan contended the act clearly intended that a person, who wanted to represent the people, should not be one who had been convicted.

The spirit of the Act, he said, was to prevent persons having a criminal record from getting elected.

Opening the arguments on the petition, counsel for Jayalalitha, P.P. Rao, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, pointed out that if the AIADMK supremo was prevented from contesting and later her conviction was set aside, the loss caused to her would be irreparable. PTI