M A I N   N E W S

Jaya gets 4-yr jail in assets case
Slapped Rs 100-cr fine Will have to resign from CM post
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service

Bangalore, September 27
A special court in Bangalore today sentenced Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to four-year imprisonment besides imposing a fine of Rs 100 crore on her in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case.

Justice John Michael Cunha held Jayalalithaa guilty under Sections 109 and 120 (b) of the IPC and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income.

Jayalalithaa’s close associates VK Sasikala, VN Sudhakaran and J Illavarasi, co-accused in the case, were also held guilty of the same charges and were sentenced to four-year simple imprisonment besides being slapped a fine of Rs 10 crore each.

Sudhakran is Sasikala’s nephew and Illavarasi is her sister in-law.

Counsels representing the prosecution said the court had found disproportionate assets worth Rs 53 crore in Jayalalithaa’s possession. They said the fines imposed on the four accused would be arranged to be raised from the assets acquired by them from their ill-gotten wealth.

All four accused were present in the court and were taken to the central prison in Bangalore immediately. The counsels said the accused would be serving their jail term in Bangalore as the trial had taken place there. They said the accused could challenge the trial court’s order in the Karnataka High Court.

Jayalalithaa was undergoing medical check-up in the prison hospital when this report was filed. Following today’s order, the 66-year-old AIADMK supremo will have to resign from the Chief Minister’s post.

Under a Supreme Court judgment of July last year, any MP or MLA who is convicted of a crime with more than two-year sentence will be disqualified as an elected representative from the date of conviction. She may be disqualified under the Representation of the People Act from contesting elections for 10 years — four years from the date of conviction and six years thereafter.

Thousands of AIADMK supporters had come over to Bangalore to show solidarity with their leader. Some of them were cane charged as they tried to break through the police cordon.

In 2001, Jayalalithaa was asked to resign following a Supreme Court judgment that nullified her appointment in view of her conviction in the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation (TANSI) land deal case.