This story is part of
SC scripts the climax to the two-decade old wealth case
SHOW MORE 14 STORIES

Supreme Court dismisses review pleas of Sasikala, kin

Bench observes that they “do not find any error in the common judgment, much less an apparent error on the face of the record, so as to call for its review”.

August 23, 2017 05:48 pm | Updated December 03, 2021 12:24 pm IST - NEW DELHI

V.K. Sasikala at the Jayalalithaa memorial on February 15, 2017 before leaving for Bengaluru to surrender before court.

V.K. Sasikala at the Jayalalithaa memorial on February 15, 2017 before leaving for Bengaluru to surrender before court.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the review petitions of AIADMK interim general secretary V.K. Sasikala and her relatives Ilavarasi and V.N. Sudhakaran, against their conviction in a disproportionate assets case.

A Bench of Justices S.A. Bobde and Amitava Roy dismissed the review petitions, observing that “we do not find any error in the common judgment, much less an apparent error on the face of the record, so as to call for its review”.

Supreme Court scripts the climax to the two-decade old wealth case

The trio’s main contention was that since the case against the main accused and sole public servant in the corruption case, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, had abated, the charges against them should also abate. They argued that the case died with the death of the sole public servant and a corruption case cannot be sustained against private citizens.

Exclusive: Did Sasikala go out of Bengaluru prison? | Watch video

On August 23, 2017, when the Bench was deciding the issue, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the accused person, made an intervention that since Justice P.C. Ghose, lead judge on the original Bench who delivered the judgment in the DA case on February 14, 2017 had retired, the new combination of Justices Bobde and Roy should hear their review petitions afresh in open court.

Justice Bobde replaced Justice Ghose, when the latter retired on May 27, 2017.

Ill-gotten wealth

In its February judgment, the apex court had, albeit posthumously, found Jayalalithaa of having criminally conspired with her then aide Sasikala at her Poes Garden residence to launder ill-gotten wealth.

Watch: Sasikala's vow at Jayalalithaa's memorial before going to jail | A vow of revenge steeped in history

However, while setting aside the Karnataka High Court’s acquittal of Sasikala and two co-accused in the 20-year-old disproportionate assets case , the Supreme Court said the appeals filed by the Karnataka government and others, including DMK leader K. Anbazhagan, against Jayalalithaa stand abated with her death on December 5, 2016. The court had “restored in toto” the trial court’s conviction of Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran in September 2014, and ordered them to surrender forthwith.

Even after she walks out free after completing a four-year jail term, Sasikala would be disqualified to contest elections for the next six years as per the Supreme Court judgment.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.