Tamil Nadu to get Rs 5-crore bill from Karnataka for Jayalalithaa case

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government is sending over a bill of more than Rs. 5.11 crore to neighbour Tamil Nadu soon. That is what it has spent on conducting the trial of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and three others in a corruption case over the last 12 years.

"We will claim Rs. 5.11 crore plus money from Tamil Nadu government which was spent on handling the case in Bengaluru," Law Minister TB Jayachandra of the Congress told reporters in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Mr Jayachandra said the state government would also bill Tamil Nadu for expenditure incurred on matters related to the Home department, including security cover for Ms Jayalalithaa, who returned as Tamil Nadu chief minister two weeks ago after the Karnataka High Court acquitted her, quashing her conviction by a Bangalore trial court in September last year.

"The home ministry is working on calculating expenses incurred on providing security to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister," Mr Jayachandra said.

Four days ago, the Karnataka government said it will file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of Ms Jayalalithaa.

The Supreme Court had transferred the case to Bengaluru on November 18, 2003, after K Anbazhagan, a politician from the DMK, Ms Jayalalithaa's arch rival, contended that a fair trial was not possible in Tamil Nadu with her Chief Minister.

In September last year, the trial court held Ms Jayalalithaa guilty of amassing wealth beyond her income. She was jailed for three weeks before being granted bail. The conviction forced the chief of Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK to resign as chief minister.

She appealed in the Karnataka High Court, which acquitted Ms Jayalalithaa on May 11 in the 19-year-old case.