FILE photo: AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
The Supreme Court today rejected AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's plea to advance the hearing of her appeal against her conviction and sentence in a disproportionate assets case.
Ms Jayalalithaa, 66, is currently out on bail; she was sentenced to four years in jail in September by a trial court in Bangalore for collecting land, gold and other assets vastly exceeding her income in a case that had dragged on for nearly two decades.
The top court, while granting her bail in October, had asked the AIADMK chief's lawyers to ensure all paperwork for her appeal was completed by December 18, or her bail could be cancelled. It said it would then ask the Karnataka High Court to decide her appeal within
three months to ensure a faster trial than the current case, which dragged on for nearly two decades.
Senior lawyer Fali Nariman, appearing for the AIADMK chief, informed the Supreme Court that all relevant documents had been submitted to the Karnataka High Court which is hearing her appeal against her conviction in the assets case. He didn't cite any reason for advancing the date of hearing of his client's appeal.
Ms Jayalalithaa was obliged by law to step down as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister after her conviction. She was replaced by loyalist M Panneerselvam at a swearing-in ceremony where many Cabinet members sobbed into handkerchiefs in an emotional display of fidelity.
Her case was transferred from Tamil Nadu to adjacent Karnataka in 2001 to ensure her political clout would not influence her trial.