The Supreme Court on Friday declined to urgently hear a petition seeking a stay on AIADMK general secretary Sasikala Natarajan being sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, refused advocate G.S. Mani's plea in a petition filed by Chennai resident Senthil Kumar.
The petition, filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, has made the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary and the AIADMK general secretary as respondent parties.
Mr. Kumar contended that the State would witness riots if Ms. Natarajan, once made chief minister, is forced to resign in case the Supreme Court overturns the acquittal order of the Karnataka High Court in the disproportionate assets (DA) case pending in the apex court.
“There is a possibility that riots will erupt all over Tamil Nadu, which is already facing a desperate situation due to cyclone, demonetisation, and death of its Chief Minister [Ms. Jayalalithaa], and hence it is imperative that fresh crisis is not created,” the petition said.
Ms. Natarajan is an accused in the DA case.
On Monday, Justice P.C. Ghose, lead judge on the Bench that heard the appeals filed by Karnataka against the acquittal order of May 11, 2015, indicated that the judgment in the case is likely to be pronounced in a week's time.
The petition said the case had become a “symbol of delay in our justice system”. It had dragged on for 18 years till the Supreme Court intervened to order the completion of the trial. Mr. Kumar termed the case a “holy scripture for some unscrupulous persons who want to drag their case”.
The petition alleged that after Ms. Jayalalithaa passed away on December 5, 2016 while holding the office of Chief Minister, a “lot of political gambling and horse trading started in Tamil Nadu, especially in the AIADMK.
