Petition in SC by Jayalalithaa’s legal heir claiming her property
The properties in question were confiscated in the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa in which she was acquitted by the high court in May 2015
New Delhi: The dispute over the inheritance of former Tamil Nadu chief minister (CM) J Jayalalithaa’s properties has reached the Supreme Court, with her niece, the legal heir, challenging a Karnataka High Court order that denied her relief. A trial court had previously transferred the property to the state.
The properties in question were confiscated in the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa, in which she was acquitted by the high court in May 2015. By the time the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on February 14, 2017, the former CM and head of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) had passed away in December 2016, leading to the abatement of the criminal proceedings.
Deepa’s petition filed through advocate M Sathya Kumar said that in terms of the top court’s decision, “all proceedings against Jayalalithaa stands abated and there is no presumption of guilt based on the conviction and sentence passed by the Special Court.” Citing this reason, Deepa claimed that the properties confiscated in the disproportionate assets case would not suffer the taint of corruption and must be restored to the legal heirs of Jayalalithaa. Along with Deepa, her brother J Deepak has been held to be the legal heir to the former CM by the Madras high court in May 2020.
However, the Karnataka high court refused to entertain this argument and while dismissing Deepa’s petition on January 13 this year said that the top court, while abating the criminal proceedings against Jayalalithaa observed that the order of confiscation have to be adhered to by all concerned, including the legal representatives of Jayalalithaa. The judgment of the top court set aside the order of acquittal passed by the high court against all other accused.
A special court in Tamil Nadu has issued a direction on January 29 handing over the various properties belonging to the former CM in the multi-crore disproportionate assets case to be handed to the state.
To be sure, Jayalalithaa was convicted in the disproportionate assets case by the trial court in September 2014 under various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. She had multiple tenures as chief minister of the state and was directed by the trial court undergo four years imprisonment. In the interest of fair trial, the top court had directed the trial to be conducted in Karnataka.