New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed for 10 days the ongoing trial against chief minister J. Jayalalithaa in a disproportionate assets case before a Bengaluru court.
A bench comprising justices B. S. Chauhan and A. K. Sikri, however, said that the civil proceedings pending before the same trial court in Bengaluru will go on. The civil proceedings relate to the plea of various companies alleging that some of the properties, shown as part of the disproportionate assets of the AIADMK chief, actually belonged to them.
“We are keeping at abeyance the trial in the criminal proceedings for 10 days. However, it is made clear that the civil proceedings will go on,” the bench said and fixed the petition for further hearing on June 6. The bench also issued notice to the director general of vigilance on the petition filed by Jayalalithaa.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, said that grave prejudice would be caused if the criminal trial was not stayed. The apex court had on May 13 said it was not inclined to stay the trial in the Bengaluru court in the DA case against Jayalalithaa and others. It, however, had allowed the chief minister to withdraw the plea and move the Karnataka high court.
The chief minister had sought a stay on the trial till the lower court decides the plea of Lex Property Development (P) Ltd, a Chennai-based firm. The company has claimed that the properties, which have been attached by the authorities as ‘benami’ holdings of Jayalalithaa, in fact, belonged to it and said this plea be decided first before the lower court proceeds with the trial in the assets case.
