Bangalooru, September 30 – Hours after the Karnataka High Court deferred AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa’s bail plea hearing to next week, it said a special bench of the court will now hold it on Wednesday.
The High Court had earlier deferred the hearing saying a public prosecutor is yet to be appointed in the case.
The 66-year-old AIADMK chief sought relief two days after a Special Court in Bangalore sentenced her to jail for four years, as a fallout of which she lost her Assembly membership and consequently Chief Minister’s post.
Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala, her relatives V N Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi had also approached the High Court, seeking bail and challenging their conviction in the case. The three were also sentenced to four years of jail term and fined Rs.10 crore each on Saturday by Special Judge John Michael D’Cunha, who has slapped a staggering fine of Rs.100 crore on Jayalalithaa in the 18-year-old corruption case.
In the landmark judgement that saw the first conviction of a sitting Chief Minister, all the four were held guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income under the Prevention of Corruption Act and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code.
Since the sentencing is for a period more than three years, only the High Court can grant bail in Jayalalithaa’s case.
A stay on the conviction would nullify the disqualification of Jayalalithaa as an MLA. Unless the conviction is overturned by a superior court, Jayalalithaa runs the risk of being barred from contesting elections for 10 years — four years when she is in jail and six years after release.
Jayalalithaa is presently lodged in the Parappana Agrahara central jail in Bangalore along with the three others.
Meanwhile, in a show of solidarity with jailed AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa, who is also a former actor, the Tamil film industry has shut its operations, including the screening of films, and is holding a day-long fast on Tuesday.
Members of various bodies of the Tamil film industry, including the Tamil Film Producers Council and South Indian Artists Association will participate in the ‘silent fast’ in Jayalalithaa’s support near the state Guest House at Chepauk from 9 am to 6 pm.
-India Today
