New Delhi: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa may have to wait longer for a court in Karnataka to decide on her appeal against her jail sentence in a corruption case.
The Supreme Court today asked a new bench to decide on a petition that had asked for the removal of the prosecutor handling the case in the Karnataka High Court.
DMK leader K. Anbazhagan had said in his petition that Bhavani Singh must be removed as Special Public Prosecutor as his appointment was not valid.
A two-judge Supreme Court bench has given a split verdict on the DMK petition.
One judge said if the allegations by the DMK were true, "this is a classic case of the accused using influence and power to derail the criminal justice system for 15 years." The other judge felt that the prosecutor can continue if the Karnataka government hasn't cancelled his appointment.
Jayalalithaa, her aide Sasikala and two others were found guilty of collecting assets worth 66 crores illegally and sentenced to four years in prison by a trial court in Bangalore last year.
Their appeal was heard by the Karnataka High Court and the verdict had been reserved.
If Bhavani Singh is removed as prosecutor, hearings in the last three months on Jayalalithaa's appeal against her conviction would stand cancelled.
The appeals will then have to be heard again after a new prosecutor is appointed.
The Supreme Court had given a three-month deadline to the Karnataka High Court to complete hearings on Jayalalithaa's appeal.