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Centre transfers corruption cases against Jaya

In a sudden controversial move, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government has transferred all corruption cases against former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha and others, pending before three special judges appointed by the state, to four other courts.

An extraordinary gazette notification, signed by Hari Singh, undersecretary in the public grievances and pensions department of the ministry of personnel, and issued on February 5, said the cases were transferred under section 3(1) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The three special judges heading the 11th, 12th and 13th additional courts would now try the cases pursued by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Some of the cases in which chargesheets are yet to be filed will be placed before the third and sixth additional city civil and session judges.

The move, coming a week before the Supreme Court is to dispose of Jayalalitha's petition challenging the validity of the Constitution on special courts, is expected to heighten the battle between the Centre and the state.

Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had earlier challenged the Centre's stand that it alone had the power to transfer pending corruption cases from one court to another. He described it as a move to bail out Jayalalitha.

The transfer would inevitably delay the trial proceedings, giving a breather to Jayalalitha and her associates.

Special Judge-I S Sambandam was hearing the Rs 666.5 million disproportionate wealth case in which Jayalalitha, her close friend Sasikala, her erstwhile foster son V N Sudhagaran and Sasikala's relative Ilavarasi are accused. The trial began on December 28 with the examination of 10 witnesses.

Besides this, the judge was also hearing the disproportionate wealth cases against former Union minister Sedapatti R Muthiah (Rs 4.57 million), former health secretary K Inbasagaran (Rs 3 million) and former legislator G Mallika (Rs 23.6 million), and the corruption cases against former ministers E Madhusoodanan and K A Sengottaiyan and former bureaucrat Dyaneswaran.

Special Judge-II V Radhakrishnan was hearing the 'coal case' wherein, besides Jayalalitha, former ministers S Kannappan, V R Nedunchezhiyan, former chief secretaries T V Venkataraman and N Haribaskar and former industries secretary C Ramachandran are the main accused. The chargesheet was filed on April 2, 1998.

Judge Radhakrishnan was also conducting the trial in the Pleasant Stay Hotel case, wherein Jayalalitha is the main accused. Former minister T M Elvaganapathy and former IAS officer H M Pandey are among the other four accused. The trial had commenced December 21.

Further, the judge was also concerned with the Rs 101.6 million colour television case in which Jayalalitha, Selvaganapathy, V R Nedunchezhiyan, All India Anna DMK member of Parliament M Sathiamoorthy, Sasikala and her relative S R Bhaskaran are among other accused. The trial had commenced last month.

The Rs 8.38 million disproportionate wealth case against Sathiamoorthy, the Rs 700,000 granite scam involving former minister M Chinnasamy and the Rs 7.74 million disproportionate wealth case against former minister K Ponnusamy are among the other cases being tried by him.

Jayalalitha and Sasikala are the prime accused in one of the three land deal cases under trial before Special Judge-III Anbazhagan. The Rs 167.8 million saree-dhoti scam against former minister Indirakumari is another case pending before him.

The Centre's notification follows the 45-minute meeting Defence Minister George Fernandes had with Jayalalitha at her Poes Garden residence on February 5.

Two days earlier Jayalalitha had said she would take "an appropriate decision at the appropriate time" on her party's continuance in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition.

UNI

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