The verdict of the special bench of the Karnataka High Court exonerating J. Jayalalithaa will have far reaching implications on the political front. In demolishing the averments of the special court judge, who had gone by the evidence tendered in respect of accounts of the wedding of the political leader’s former foster son, the judge of the high court has asserted his legal authority, pitting his reading of the trial against the finding and judgment of the special court. “Taking into account the circumstances and material placed on record,” the judge came to the conclusion that it was a clear case for acquittal of the accused, specifically on the ground that the assets calculated as “disproportionate” are less than 10 per cent in excess of computation as per the I-T returns filed. The matter might normally be allowed to rest there if this were not a very sensitive case involving a key politician in a game in which the stakes are extremely high.
Ms Jayalalithaa faced this case of disproportionate assets for an interminable period and has risen for a second time out of a legal quagmire to enjoy the right to be the chief minister of the state once again, which soon enough she will be for the fifth time. Given the nearly two decades spent on the case of such a convoluted nature in which many parties, including her defence team, were guilty of dilatory tactics, any appeal process would only be testing the legal system further. Considering the larger political implications, some of the original complainants may be inclined to pursue the case, particularly as the DMK might feel its chances are better on the legal front than in the ballot box in which Ms Jayalalithaa’s candidates triumphed as recently as in the Lok Sabha polls of 2014.
Having once lost the chief minister’s post on technical grounds for six months, she suffered the same fate again after the special court verdict last September. Having spent that time in an exemplary manner away from the spotlight, as ordered by the Supreme Court which came to her rescue in granting her bail, she is certain to get back very quickly into addressing the nitty-gritty of realpolitik and timing her reelection as well as the polls to the state Assembly, due in a year’s time.
It is arguable whether the judicial system is somehow tying itself up in knots when it comes to major personalities of the country. However, it stands to reason that the legal conclusion in the case, prodded in the final stages to arrive at a quick ruling on merits at the high court level, has to be accepted. Certain points in it, like the legality of the appointment of a special public prosecutor, which was found to be deficient by the top court, is a pointer to the confusion in the prosecuting side. An exonerated Ms Jayalalithaa is free to act now in her interest and that of her party.
