{"id":174611,"date":"2017-03-05T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2017-03-04T18:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=174611"},"modified":"2017-03-12T00:02:06","modified_gmt":"2017-03-11T18:32:06","slug":"on-the-verdict-of-the-case-against-jayalalithaa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/on-the-verdict-of-the-case-against-jayalalithaa\/","title":{"rendered":"On The Verdict Of The Case Against Jayalalithaa"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Veluppillai Thangavelu<\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Veluppillai Thangavelu<\/p><\/div>\n

“Jayalaithaa\u2019s Poes Garden Home Was Hub Of Conspiracy<\/em>” ~ Supreme Court\u00a0Justices<\/p>\n

The unexpected demise of\u00a0AIADMK supremo Jayaram Jayalalithaa<\/a>\u00a0has changed the political landscape of\u00a0Tamil Nadu politics and has brought instability. Jayalalithaa, affectionately called Amma by her admirers, ruled TN with an iron hand being both the Chief Minister as well as the General Secretary of\u00a0 the\u00a0 AIADMK \u00a0she commanded absolute loyalty from her \u00a0Ministers and other party functionaries. Any infraction, any sign of disloyalty drew swift retaliation from Jayalalithaa herself. Ministers and other party functionaries were summarily sacked from\u00a0 their posts, including \u00a0primary membership of the party through press releases. No formal charges, inquiries or explanations were asked from\u00a0those disciplined. Jayalalithaa\u00a0as the supremo of\u00a0the AIADMK\u00a0 \u00a0promoted, demoted, used and discarded party men at her whim and fancy \u00a0with cold-blooded ruthlessness or\u00a0serene benevolence. She was a benevolent dictator for want of a better word. She treated the party for all intents and purposes as her personal fiefdom.<\/p>\n

Events began to move fast within hours of the announcement Jayalalithaa’s demise at 11.30 pm on December 5, 2016. While she was warded at\u00a0Apollo hospital there were rumours circulating that Jayalalithaa was dead long ago. I heard this rumour\u00a0in person when I landed in Chennai airport on the morning of September 29th.\u00a0 There were rumours, quite\u00a0unfounded, that Sasikala had poisoned Jayalalithaa after or before admission\u00a0to the hospital on September 22nf.\u00a0 Surprisingly many swallowed\u00a0hook. line and sinker such news despite its absurdity. The rumour mill continued to work overtime since Apollo hospital did not issue regular press releases about Jayalaithaa\u2019s\u00a0medical condition. Nor any one\u00a0allowed to see her including\u00a0acting\u00a0Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, acting chief Minister and other Ministers. The following is\u00a0how events unfolded from day one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Jayalalithaa<\/p><\/div>\n

2016\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

December 05<\/em> – J Jayalalithaa dies at Chennai\u00a0 Apollo Hospital at the age of 68 after suffering a cardiac arrest. O. Panneerselvam, popularly known as OPS, is swiftly sworn in as Chief Minister.<\/p>\n

December 29<\/em> – \u00a0Sasikala is appointed the acting general secretary of AIADMK after the party\u2019s general council unanimously passed a resolution.<\/p>\n

2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

February 05<\/em> – OPS resigns as the CM for \u201cpersonal reasons.\u201d Sasikala elected as head of the legislative party, makes plans to form the government the next day. Governor C Vidyalaya Rao accepts OPS\u2019 resignation, but orders that he continues holding the post until a new CM is elected.<\/p>\n

February 06<\/em> – Plans to elect Sasikala as CM is postponed, as Governor Vidyasagar Rao says he is unable to attend the ceremony due to scheduling issues.<\/p>\n

February 07<\/em> – OPS meditates for 40 minutes next to Jayalaithaa\u2019s memorial. He then makes startling revelations to reporters claiming\u00a0 he was “forced to resign,\u201d<\/p>\n

February 09<\/em> – \u00a0OPS camp gets a huge boost after senior leader E Madhusudhanan, the party\u2019s presidium chairperson, joins them.<\/p>\n

February 10<\/em> – Sasikala takes 129 MLAs and keeps them at Golden Bay resort to prevent any defections to OPS\u2019 side.<\/p>\n

February 14<\/em> – Sasikala is convicted in the DA case and sentenced to 4 years in jail. Edappadi K Palaniswami appointed head of the legislature party. OPS expelled from AIADMK.<\/p>\n

February 15<\/em> – OPS\u00a0 forms a rival faction and at least 10 MLA’s\u00a0and 12 MPs\u00a0join him.<\/p>\n

February 18<\/em> – Palaniswami wins confidence\u00a0 vote amid high drama and unruly scenes in the Assembly. One hundred and twenty two\u00a0members\u00a0voted in support and only 11 voting against it.\u00a0 The Speaker expels\u00a0 DMK\u00a0members for unruly behaviour and disturbing the proceedings of the assembly.<\/p>\n

What\u00a0dashed the hopes of\u00a0Sasikala, derisively dubbed\u00a0 Jayalalithaa\u2019s House Keeper, \u00a0getting appointed as Chief Minister is the\u00a0judgement delivered by\u00a0 the Supreme Court in the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa, VK Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran.\u00a0 They were\u00a0booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1996 for allegedly amassing unaccounted wealth worth nearly Rs 67 crores. Jayalalithaa when she contested from Srirangam constituency in May, 2011 Assembly elections had declared her assets to the tune of Rs 51.40 crores. One year\u00a0later in June\u00a02015 Jayalalithaa\u00a0declared assets to the tune of Rs.117.13 crores when she filed her nomination papers for the R.K. Nagar constituency<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On 27 September in 2014, a special Bangalore court\u00a0found Jayalalithaa guilty and sentenced her to four years in jail\u00a0and Rs.100 crores fine along with her close aid (\u0b87\u0ba3\u0bc8 \u0baa\u0bbf\u0bb0\u0bbf\u0baf\u0bbe \u0ba4\u0bcb\u0bb4\u0bbf) Sasikala and two others. Thus Jayalalithaa became the first incumbent Chief Minister in India to be disqualified from holding office due to conviction in a disproportionate assets case. Following the conviction,\u00a0all four accused spent 21 days in jail.\u00a0 Though Jayalalithaa became the first incumbent Chief Minister to be convicted there were other Chief Ministers convicted out of office.<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Madhu Koda (Chief Minister of Jharkhand 2006-08) arrested for Madhu Koda mining scam and a related disproportionate assets case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.<\/p>\n

2. Shibu Soren (Chief Minister of Jharkhand 2005, 2008-09, 2009-10) found guilty by a District Court in a twelve-year-old case involving the kidnapping and murder of his former personal secretary Shashinath Jha; later acquitted by Delhi High Court.<\/p>\n

3. Om Prakash Chautala (Chief Minister of Haryana 1989, 1990, 1990-91, 1999-2005) convicted in a scam concerning illegal recruitment of school teachers.<\/p>\n

4. Lalu Prasad Yadav (Chief Minister of Bihar 1990-95, 1995-97) convicted in the famous Fodder Scam.<\/p>\n

5. B. S. Yeddyurappa (Chief Minister of Karnataka 2007, 2008-11) arrested for several corruption cases, related to the mining scam.<\/p>\n

6. Charan Singh (Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh 1967-68, 1970) jailed by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, when she jailed all her political rivals.<\/p>\n

On May 11, 2015 the Karnataka High Court acquitted all four accused and Jayalalithaa resumed office as Chief Minister\u00a0on May 23, 2015. She was subsequently re-elected\u00a0 from Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency of North Chennai in a by-election held on 27 June 2015. However, the Congress government in Karnataka\u00a0filed an appeal to the\u00a0Supreme Court in Delhi against her acquittal.<\/p>\n

On February 14, 2017\u00a0after completion of hearings in June, 2016\u00a0the Supreme Court\u00a0Division Bench of Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy\u00a0found Sasikala and others Guilty and restored Trial Court Verdict delivered in 2014.<\/p>\n

Apparently the acting Governor Vidyasagar Rao was wilfully delaying the appointment of\u00a0 Sasikala as Chief Minister because of the impending Supreme Court judgement. Had he not waited, Sasikala would have been appointed as Chief Minister making her eligible for many of privileges\u00a0in prison!<\/p>\n

On February 18 Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami\u00a0won the confidence vote by a\u00a0razor thin majority of 5 votes in the\u00a0Assembly. At the Assembly elections held in May 2016, the AIADMK won 134 out of 227 seats it contested. This is a reduction of 16 seats compared to\u00a02011 election results. Though the confidence vote was won, it has raised questions regarding the stability of\u00a0\u00a0the AIADMK in the Assembly. Just 5 members defecting to AIADMK faction led by O.S.Paneerselvam,\u00a0the government may fall precipitating fresh elections. It is this\u00a0fear that if the\u00a0government is toppled\u00a0they will \u00a0have to face the hustings that\u00a0is holding the122 members to stick together.<\/p>\n

In future,\u00a0the\u00a0AIADMK\u00a0has to face elections minus Jayalalithaa Amma its charismatic and popular leader. Sasikala and\u00a0her family are perceived by a section of the electorate as usurpers of the throne. After Jayalalithaa\u2019s death the Sasikala\u2019s close family members are back in Poes Garden in full force. Within hours of her conviction, Sasikala appointed TTV Dinakaran, her nephew,\u00a0as the deputy general secretary of AIADMK which post wields enormous political power. And Dinakaran is one of Sasikala\u2019s family member expelled from the party in 2011 and kept out of bounds of Poes Garden. Not only Dinakaran, Sasikala\u2019s other family members too have taken firm roots in Poes Garden now and that includes Dr.Venkadesh another nephew of Sasikala.<\/p>\n

Panneerselvam, finance minister in Jayalalithaa cabinet and three-time chief minister has lost his bid for Chief Minister to Palaniswamy an administrative novice. When Jayalalithaa was alive, she gave no indication as to who will succeed in case\u00a0she dies. She never even hinted that she wanted her close aid Sasikala to step into her shoes after she was gone. At no point, was a party or a government post given to Sasikala by Jayalalithaa. Sasikala never contested any elections.\u00a0 This has\u00a0strengthened the impression that Sasikala has grabbed what was not meant for her – first Jayalaithaa\u2019s\u00a0party and now her government.<\/p>\n

However, it is too early to dismiss Sasikala\u00a0merely as a housekeeper for Jayalalithaa for the last 33 years. Even though Sasikala has not held a party post before, or any experience as a legislator, she is no Rabri Devi. Those who know her, praise her understanding of politics, even though under Jayalalithaa, it was confined to playing the role of a backroom operator. Many MLAs owe their post to Sasikala who nominated them in the first place.<\/p>\n

In 2011,\u00a0Sasikala and her family were\u00a0thrown out of Poes Garden, bag and baggage, because Jayalalithaa suspected they were hatching a conspiracy\u00a0to topple her from power. Sasikala was taken back 4 months later after she wrote a teary-eyed letter in which she wrote: “Only after coming out of Poes Garden, I became aware of the machinations of my relatives who have misused my proximity and brought disrepute to Akka (elder sister) and the party. I have no role whatsoever in that. Hereafter, any relative, whosoever it might be, who had conspired against Akka, will remain a persona non grata for me as well.” Sasikala was taken back 4 months later after she wrote a teary-eyed letter in which she wrote: “Only after coming out of Poes Garden, I became aware of the machinations of my relatives who have misused my proximity and brought disrepute to Akka (elder sister) and the party. I have no role whatsoever in that. Hereafter, any relative, whosoever it might be, who had conspired against Akka, will remain a persona non grata for me as well.”<\/p>\n

It took eight minutes for two Supreme Court Justices to announce the decision that abruptly cut short the political career of VK Sasikala, a long-time close aid of Jayaram Jayalalithaa. The Justices\u00a0concurred when they held Ms Sasikala guilty of corruption and decided that she has to go to back to jail to serve a four-year sentence. “We have expressed deep concern about escalating menace of corruption in the society,” said the Justices \u00a0in their 570-page order. Ms Sasikala, who was hoping to become Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu surrendered immediately to the prison authorities in Bangalore. She also has to pay a Rs. 10 crores fine.<\/p>\n

“You can understand too much of fatty judgement, we have taken the burden on us…we will read out the conclusion,” said Justice Pinaki Chandra Bose. The second Justice Amitava Roy, said, “We are setting aside the High court judgement and restoring the trial court judgement in full.\u00a0 Since\u00a0Jayalalithaa has expired, the case against A1 (Jayalalithaa) is abated. All convicted must surrender forthwith.” The verdict came after nearly 15 months of hearing before Supreme Court beginning from November 23, 2015.<\/p>\n

It was Judge\u00a0Michael Cunha of the Special Court in Karnataka who found Jayalalithaa guilty of\u00a0holding disproportionate assets through corruption. He handed a 4 year jail sentence and\u00a0slapped a fine of Rs 100 crores for Jayalalithaa and 4 year prison and Rs.10 crores each for Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran.<\/p>\n

Ms Sasikala has been found guilty, along with Ms Jayalalithaa, of collecting a fortune beyond their known sources of income between 1991 and 1996. The Justices\u00a0cancelled the acquittal\u00a0order and restored the Bangalore Special court’s conviction. Sasikala cannot contest for six years after her four-year sentence. So\u00a0her political career is erased for the next ten years. Not just Sasikala, Supreme Court\u00a0verdict means Jayalalithaa\u2019s image is dented and her sorely diminished legacy now tainted<\/strong>. The case against Jayalalithaa wounded through 3 courts, 14 judges, unspecified number of state prosecutors and\u00a0countless\u00a0postponements\u00a0over 21 long years. The corruption case attracted\u00a0attention through out the length and breath of India.<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa must have spent a fortune for retaining expensive lawyers to defend her in courts. Ram Jethmalani who appeared for Jayalalithaa in the Supreme Court reported charges between 8 -10 lakhs for a single appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice has been done. Judgement shows how strong and independent is our judiciary,\u201d former advocate general BV Acharya told the press. He is the Special Public Prosecutor\u00a0who appeared for state of Karnataka and argued the\u00a0appeal in the Supreme Court.\u00a0 \u2028\u2028The opulent wedding hosted by Jayalalithaa in\u00a0July, 1995 for her then-foster son VN Sudhakaran, where Jayalalitha and Sasikala were decked up in red and gold, as if they were modelling for a jewellery store, turned out to be her undoing. According to prosecution Rs 6.45 crore \u00a0was spent by Jayalalithaa for the lavish wedding.<\/p>\n

Contrary to\u00a0public perception that Jayalalithaa is honest and lily white in her personal life and it is the Mannarkudi mafia led by Sasikala\u00a0which lured Jayalalithaa to amass wealth disproportionate to her income, the Supreme Court\u00a0Justices said “Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden Home Was Hub Of Conspiracy<\/strong>.”\u00a0 “…. The facts and circumstances proved in evidence undoubtedly point out that A2 to A4 were accommodated in the house of A1 pursuant to the criminal conspiracy hatched by them to hold the assets of A1.”<\/p>\n

Here are some highlights from the judgement delivered by the two Justices.<\/p>\n

The Justices while upholding trial court’s valuation of assets of the convicts during the said period of 1991-1996, noted that besides jewellery and wrist watches, they also owned vehicles\u00a0 included a Maruti car, a Hindustan Motor’s Contessa, vans and jeeps worth almost Rs 1.30 crores and over 400 kg silver worth Rs 20.8 lakhs. The trial court, however, did not consider the prosecution’s claim that they possessed sarees and footwear worth Rs 92.4 lakhs and Rs 2 lakhs respectively.<\/p>\n

Putting its seal of approval on the computation of assets done by the special trial court, it said the convicts, who resided at Jayalalithaa\u2019s Poes Garden residence in Chennai, collectively possessed immovable properties worth Rs 20.07 crores and newly constructed buildings worth Rs 22.53 crores.<\/p>\n

It noted that the value of the assets held by them before the check period was assessed at Rs 2.01 crores while the remaining was acquired over 5-6\u00a0years. The cash in the bank accounts of the convicts was valued at Rs 97.47 lakhs while fixed deposits and shares in their names were worth Rs 3.42 crores.<\/p>\n

Both the movable and immovable assets in the name of Jayalalithaa are likely to be auctioned to recoup the Rs.100 crores fine imposed by the\u00a0special court and reinstated by the Apex court. In addition to her known assets, the assets confiscated and kept in the Karnataka\u00a0treasury\u00a0includes 21.28kg of gold jewellery worth Rs 3.5 crores, 1,250kg of silver articles worth Rs 3.12 crores, diamonds worth Rs 2 crores and a silver sword will\u00a0go under the hammer.<\/p>\n

The Apex court had in its 570-page judgement held that Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her two relatives had entered into a conspiracy and the late Chief Minister, who was a public servant at the relevant time, had come to possess assets disproportionate to the known sources of her income during the check period.<\/p>\n

“We have analysed the evidence adduced by the parties and we come to the conclusion that A1 to A4 (all the accused) have entered into a conspiracy and in furtherance of the same, A1 (Jayalalithaa) who was a public servant at the relevant time had come into possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of her income during the check period and had got the same dispersed in the names of A2 to A4 and the firms and companies involved to hold these on her behalf with a masked front,” the bench had said.\u00a0 It is a typical case of sow in the morning\u00a0and reaps\u00a0in the evening!<\/p>\n

The TN ship of state is likely to dive into\u00a0turbulent waters, unless the leaders of the\u00a0fractured AIADMK bury their hatchet. A 5 vote majority in the Assembly is very slim and if\u00a0some members decide to jump ship the government will fall. If that happens with Sasikala behind bars, there is no leader even remotely close to Jayalalithaa to face the hustling in the near future. In this context,\u00a0the DMK under Stalin\u00a0is smelling victory at the next elections. However, it is difficult to fathom the minds of TN voters,\u00a0used to freebies, free buriyani, free quarter and cash,\u00a0which way they will cast their votes.<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa Amma will\u00a0remain an eternal\u00a0enigma as to why she went on a buying spree to acquire lands, estates, mansions and lived like a queen when she had no family, no children, and no relatives to inherit her legacy!\u00a0\u00a0 In fact, her untimely death is a blessing in disguise; it spared her the ignominy of spending four years in jail.<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa’s prosecution and conviction for corruption proves the age old adage what you sow in the morning you reap in the evening. It confirms the message that those who wield power will be punished if they deviate from righteous principles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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