New Delhi, October 9 – AIADMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa moved Supreme Court on Thursday for bail and suspension of sentence in the assets case.
The petition number 33174, however, is only for Jayalalithaa. The bail petition for the others – Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala, VN Sudhakaran, the disowned foster son of the former chief minister, and Elavarasi – has not been filed.
Earlier on Tuesday, Karnataka High Court refused bail to her in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case.
Justice AV Chandrashekhara had denied relief to Jayalalithaa, saying that there are “no grounds” to give her bail.
Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani will lead the team of lawyers who will argue against the high court order denying bail to the AIADMK supremo.
Quoting various cases of the Supreme Court under Prevention of Corruption Act, the court had said, “In view of clear observation of the apex court that corruption is a violation of human rights, this is not a fit case for suspension and bail.”
The court had not only refused to grant her bail, but also declined to stay the sentence of four-year imprisonment and Rs.100 crore penalty imposed on her in the case.
Jayalalithaa is lodged in a Bangalore prison since September 27 when a special court had convicted her in the disproportionate assets case and sentenced her to four years` simple imprisonment, with a fine of Rs.100 crore under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The rejection of the bail plea resulted in AIADMK supporters expressing their anger over the ruling.
-India Today
