The city police have deployed over 700 personnel within a 1-km radius of the High Court which, on Monday, will deliver the judgment on the appeals filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others against their conviction in the disproportionate assets case.
Anticipating trouble by the presence of AIADMK cadres, the police have issued prohibitory orders within the 1-km radius from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Alok Kumar said jurisdictional police officers of sensitive areas — pockets with a large Tamil population — have been directed to intensify patrolling to ensure law and order. Police stations in areas bordering Tamil Nadu have also been directed to keep an eye on the entry and exit routes of the city.
Security cover has been provided to the residence B.V. Acharya, Special Public Prosecutor in the case.
The proceedings in court hall 14 of the High Court on Monday is certain to have a huge bearing on the politics of Tamil Nadu. The Special Bench of Justice C.R. Kumaraswamy will deliver its verdict on the appeals. However, since Ms. Jayalalithaa will stay back in Chennai on Monday (it is not necessary for the accused to be present in the High Court during the judgment), senior AIADMK leaders have given Bengaluru a miss this time. Sources said party MPs have been instructed to stay put in New Delhi since Parliament is in session. Till Sunday evening, there was no information on any AIADMK Minister landing in Bengaluru.
18-year assets case
The 18-year assets case launched by the DMK government in 1996, following a complaint by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, reached its climax on September 27 last year, when a Special Court convicted Jayalalithaa and three of her associates —V. Sasikala, V.N. Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi — for amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income. They were sentenced to 4 years in prison. A fine of Rs 100 crore was also levied.
The verdict put Ms. Jayalalithaa in jail for a brief period before she eventually got bail from the Supreme Court in October. The apex court had set a three-month deadline for the High Court to complete the appeal.
The last three months also witnessed high drama as the appointment of Bhavani Singh as Special Public Prosecutor in the appeal was challenged by DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan. After a split verdict by a two-member Bench, his appointment was struck down by a larger Supreme Court Bench in April.
Its verdict will virtually decide the political future of Jayalalithaa and the AIADMK
