Bengaluru: In a major setback to AIADMK supremo and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday rejected her petition seeking bail and suspension of sentence.
Justice A.V. Chandras-hekara, rejecting the bail petitions, cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that had taken a tough stand against corruption.
“Corruption is not only a punishable offence but also undermines human rights, indirectly violating them, and systematic corruption is a human rights violation in itself, as it leads to systematic economic crimes,” the judge said, citing the Supreme Court verdict.
The court also observed that it was ‘not a fit case’ to either grant bail or suspend the sentence, and stressed that the lower court delivered the judgement after 18 long years of trial.
The judge turned down the arguments of the defence, which cited bail granted to former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav by the apex court in the fodder scam.
Senior Supreme Court counsel Ram Jethmalani, who is representing Ms Jayalalithaa, argued that she was entitled for bail during the pendency of an appeal against conviction. He argued that the lower court came to the conclusion without proper examination of witnesses and evidence as per law.
“Ms Jayalalithaa in 1971 inherited several gold ornaments and other valuables, but the lower court failed to take that into account and also several aspects, including the IT returns filed by her. The investigating authorities have also erred in the estimation of her properties. Her house in Chennai is valued at a higher price, whereas it is worth just Rs 4 crore at the present rate,” he argued.
The wedding of Mr Sudhakaran was conducted at a cost of Rs 3 crore and all the financial transactions were made through cheques, he told the court.
Jayalalithaa and three associates — Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran — were convicted and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by a special court in Bengaluru in a disproportionate case on September 27. The three other convicts too applied for bail before the high court.
Prior to the verdict, special public prosecutor Bhavani Singh, who initially submitted a statement of objections against the bail pleas, later orally submitted he had no objection to granting bail. This gave a ray of hope to hundreds of supporters who gathered near the Central Prison and High Court, who started celebrating. But the court rejected the bail petitions.
