Chennai: Testing the nerve of a trial court, AIADMK (Amma) general secretary V.K. Sasikala, now detained at prison in Bengaluru, has filed a petition before the court seeking to send her the list of questions to be asked from her when the court takes up framing of charges against her in a two-decade old Fera case.
Based on her plea, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Economic Offence-I), Egmore on May 4 had permitted her to appear before the court through video-conference from the prison for framing charges against her in the Fera case registered by Enforcement Directorate and directed her to file an affidavit in two weeks.
The judge A. Zakir Hussain had framed charged against her relative Baskaran, brother of AIADMK deputy general secretary, TTV Dhinakaran, in connection with the FERA case registered against him.
Before the court could frame charge against her, she filed the petition before the court seeking permission to appear before the court through video-conference facility from prison in Bengaluru. After the court granted permission, she has approached the court seeking the court to send set of questions to be posed at her while framing charges through videoconference.
However, the counsel for ED has vehemently opposed the plea. The court has posted the petition for arguments to June 2.
According to prosecution, five cases were registered against Sasikala, Bhaskaran and J J TV by ED in 1995 and 1996 on charges of violating the Fera. They made payments in US and Singapore dollars to foreign firms for hiring transponders, equipments and uplink facilities for J J TV. The payments were illegally routed to US-based Rimsat through firms having network in the Philippines and Singapore. Violating the RBI norms they paid US $ 10 lakh and US $ 3.6 lakh, to these companies.
