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3 years RI for Jaya in Tansi case

A special court in Madras sentenced former Tamil Nadu chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalitha and five others to three years rigorous imprisonment in the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation property deal case. If not upturned by the higher judiciary in the coming months, Jayalalitha will be disqualified from contesting the state assembly polls, due next year.

Also sentenced to three years RI is Jayalalitha's live-in confidante Sasikala Natarajan, who was her partner in Jaya Publications and Sasi Enterprises, two firms charged with purchasing property owned by the state-owned Tansi, when Jayalalitha was chief minister.

Special Judge P Anbazhagan found Jayalalitha guilty of criminal conspiracy under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 409, dealing with criminal breach of trust by a 'public servant', which Jayalalitha was as Chief Minister.

The prosecution case related to the two firms of which Jayalalitha and Sasikala were the sole partners, purchasing Tansi property in the heart of Madras. This, the prosecution argued, was against a code of conduct which prevents a public servant from purchasing property. While the defence argued that the code did not have any statutory bearing, the prosecution case was also built around the under-valuation of the property which led to a pecuniary loss of Rs 41.60 million to the state exchequer, both by way of sale proceeds and stamp duty.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the six accused, the others being former Rural Industries Minister Mohammed Asif, then Tansi chairman and managing director T R Srinivasan, a stamp duty official, S Nagarajan and then additional secretary to the then chief minister, R Karpoorasundara Pandian.

In another case, involving a similar purchase by another firm, Sasi Enterprises, five of them were sentenced to two years' RI, but Asif was acquitted. They were also fined Rs 5,000 each.

However, the judge suspended the operation of his judgement till November 7 to enable Jayalalitha and others to appeal before Madras High Court against the judgement.

Fifty prosecution witnesses and 12 defence witnesses were examined in the case.

The chargesheet in the case was filed on November 15, 1996 and the charges were framed on June 10, 1999.

Justice S Thangaraj of the Madras High Court had on January 13 last discharged Jayalalitha from the case. But on a special leave petition filed by the state government, the Supreme Court had erased the high court order and directed Jayalalitha to face trial in the case.

On Monday, the state government had put the police on high alert. This verdict implies that Jayalalitha may be disqualified from contesting Assembly elections next year, unless the higher judiciary reduces the sentence below two years in time for the polls. Alternatively, the higher judiciary, leading up to the Supreme Court, may have to stay the implementation of the verdict, for them to contest.

The state executive of the AIADMK is scheduled to meet in Madras on Tuesday, the date fixed long before the special judge finalised the date of verdict. With the verdict the meeting assumes added significance.

While the focus of the meeting may be on the verdict, the party will also have to consider alternative chief ministerial nominees for the assembly polls.

Jayalalitha, despite anticipating an unfavourable verdict, has been talking only of a single-party rule in the tate after the polls, thus upsetting the demands of a coalition government, made by the emerging Tamil Maanila Congress ally. Indications are that other allies of the AIADMK may insist on TMC founder G K Moopanar being projected as the chief ministerial nominee, should Jayalalitha lose the legal battle for contesting the elections.

Of the 47 cases registered against Jayalalitha, some of her erstwhile cabinet collegues and some IAS and IPS officials, this is the 12th case in which judgement was delivered by the special judges. Of the 11 cases in which verdict was delivered earlier, two cases ended in acquittal. IPS offficial N Hariharan was acquitted in the fire tender scam case, while former minister M Sathiamoorthy was acquitted in the disproportionate wealth case.

Former ministers Nagoor Meeran, E Madhusoodanan, E Ponnusamy, Sedapatti R Muthiah, T M Selvaganapathy and K A Sengottaiyan, IAS official N Haribhaskar and former MLA G Malliga were convicted in different cases.

Of the six cases registered against Jayalalitha, this is the third case in which judgement is pronounced. She was acquitted in the Rs 101.6 million colour television sets scam case while she was convicted and sentenced to one year RI in the Kodaikkannal Pleasant Stay Hotel case, leading to state-wide violence by AIADMK cadres, culminating in the death of three college students when a bus was set afire at Dharmapuri on February 2.

In the multi-million coal import deal case, she was discharged by the trial court and confirmed by the high court. But on a special leave petition filed by the state government, the Supreme Court held that the trial court ought not to have discharged her at the premature stage and directed her to face trial.

In the Rs 666.5 million disproportionate wealth case, the trial is in progress.

In the Rs 282.9 million SPIC disinvestment case, the chargesheet was filed and the case is pending before special judge-1, A C Arumughaperumal Adityan.

Additional inputs by UNI and PTI

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