Verdict shocks AIADMK cadre

However, some in the party are hopeful that Jayalalithaa will be acquitted

The remarks made by the three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Monday, while holding the appointment of Special Public Prosecutor G. Bhavani Singh as bad in law, has sent shock waves among members of the ruling AIADMK.

While the partymen were already in a state of anxiety over the outcome of the appeals filed by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others, with many Ministers spending more time in temples than at the Secretariat, the adverse remarks by the court on the State government came as a rude shock.

Disappointment and shock were evident in their voices. As the news appeared through satellite channels on Monday morning, partymen began discussing the repercussions of the judgment in detail. “The observations are definitely shocking. It is more like an indirect order to the Karnataka High Court judge,” says a party advocate.

But loyalists are not willing to read too much into the Supreme Court Bench’s remarks. Many of them feel that the Supreme Court had actually cleared the decks for the Karnataka High Court to deliver the judgment immediately on the AIADMK general secretary’s appeal in the disproportionate assets.

However, a few senior party leaders, long-time loyalists, firmly believe that Ms Jayalalithaa would be acquitted of all charges.

“The SC Bench was hearing a petition on appointment of SPP. The Karnataka HC need not go into it. There is no need to link the issue with the appeal.

Amma will be acquitted,” says another advocate.

Some of them claim it is actually a setback to the DMK as it desperately wanted to the case to drag on, but now an early verdict is expected. Some sections of the party wonder why the State government appointed Mr. Singh as SPP for the appeal, the move that led to the crisis.