With the assurance that every party will get a chance to have his say, the Supreme Court on Monday fixed November 23 to decide the dates for day-to-day hearings on appeals filed by the State of Karnataka against the acquittal of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her co-accused in a disproportionate assets case.
“Whatever the date may be... the appeals should be heard early,” senior advocate Nageshwar Rao representing Ms. Jayalalithaa urged a Bench of Justices P.C. Ghose and R.K. Aggarwal.
The appeals were originally fixed for hearing today but adjourned as the pleading remained incomplete.
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Karnataka government had sought six weeks to complete the formalities.
Karnataka government fielded senior advocate Dushyant Dave and special prosecutor B.V.Acharya for the hearing.
At his combative best, Mr. Dave claimed he is ready to prove how the State of Karnataka was “thrown out” of the first appeal hearings in the State High Court, leading to the acquittal order.
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Senior advocate C.A. Sundaram, appearing for the six companies alleged to be operated as 'benami' fronts of the accused, argued that the assets of the firms cannot be mixed up in this issue.
“We will not say anything now on merits,” the court declined to make any comments. On July 27, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the Karnataka High Court judgment acquitting
Ms. Jayalalithaa and three others in the case. Admitting the appeal, it had issued notice to the Chief Minister, her close aide N. Sasikala, V.N. Sudhakaran, J. Elavarasi on all the petitions filed in the matter by the Karnataka government, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader K. Anbazhagan and an intervention application filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy.
The court had further issued notice to a separate petition filed by Mr. Anbazhagan challenging the Karnataka High Court order setting aside the confiscation of properties held by Indo-Doha Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd., Signora Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., Ramraj Agro Mills Ltd., Meadow Agro Farms, Riverway Agro Products “for and on behalf of Ms. Jayalalithaa”.
Karnataka has termed the acquittal a “gross miscarriage of justice.” It described the judgment delivered on May 11 by Justice C.R. Kumaraswamy as “cryptic, lacks reasoning and illogical.” It ridiculed the calculations arrived at by the judge, which resulted in the exoneration of the accused.
The petition, filed through State counsel and Supreme Court advocate Joseph Aristotle, said the judge did not even bother to record cogent reasons for reversing the “well-considered judgment” delivered by trial court judge John Michael D' Cunha on September 27, 2014.