The Special Court trying the disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday cautioned that it would summon the remaining three accused to be present in the court and address their arguments personally if their lawyers failed to start final arguments on Friday (May 23).
Adjournment soughtJudge John Michael Cunha passed the order when counsel for three other accused — V.K. Sasiskala, V.N. Sudhakaran and J. Ilavarsi — sought adjournment.
They sought adjournment stating that Ms. Jayalalithaa and Ms. Sasikala had moved the apex court seeking postponement of final arguments till the Special Court decided the claims over some of the attached properties by some firms and companies.
Counsel for the three accused said that the accused on Thursday morning moved the Supreme Court questioning the May 20 order of the Karnataka High Court, which refused to either to postpone or keep in abeyance the final arguments as sought by the accused.
Apex court hearing on May 26They said that the apex court would be hearing their appeal on May 26.
However, the judge refused to accept the plea for adjournment, while orally observing that the proceedings could not be postponed in the absence of an order of stay from the higher courts.
The Special Court has been adjourning arguments since May 19, when prosecution completed final arguments, and on May 21 it had said that adjournments could not be granted liberally in a criminal case on pleas by advocates of the accused.In case of Ms. Jayalalithaa, the Special Court had already adjourned the final arguments, to be addressed on her behalf, till June 2 in view of death of the mother of her senior counsel B. Kumar.
