Former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking to quash the ‘gifts case' against her.
Ms.Jayalalithaa said in view of the “inordinate and unexplained delay,” the charge sheet was liable to be quashed as laid down by the Supreme Court.
The case related to the receipt of gifts by Ms.Jayalalithaa on her birthday in 1992 in her capacity as a public servant.
In her petition, filed through counsel, A.Navaneethakrishnan, the AIADMK leader submitted that the CB CID filed an FIR against her in the case in June 1996.
The Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) registered a case in September 1996.
The case, registered by the CB CID, was transferred to CBI and the Central agency registered a case on October 2, 1996.
The charge sheet was filed in the court of the VIII Additional Sessions Judge/Principal Judge for CBI cases on July 31, 2006.
The charge sheet was filed against Ms.Jayalalithaa for an alleged offence under section 11 and against two others (K.A.Sengottaiyan and Alagu. Thirunavukkarasu, former Ministers) under section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Ms.Jayalalithaa said the delay in investigation was inordinate and unexplained. It was not caused by her. It was now a settled law that fair and speedy trial was guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
Speedy trial included speedy investigation also. Since speedy trial was denied to her, she was constrained to file the present petition seeking to quash the case pending on the file of VIII Additional Sessions Judge/Principal Judge for CBI cases, Chennai.
