The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to give any relief at this stage to Sasikala, co-accused in the disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, seeking translated versions of questions framed by the special court in Tamil. The trial will resume in the special court on February 18.
A Bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice B.S. Chauhan did not agree with the submissions of the senior counsel for the petitioner, V. Giri that translated versions of the questions be kept as part of the record.
The Bench told the counsel that since there was already an interpreter in the special court, ably assisted by the petitioner's counsel, any problem in the translation during the questioning could be sorted out by the Presiding officer.
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Justice Sathasivam told the counsel “Everyday we are facing similar cases from across the country. There are provisions in the Cr.P.C. to take care of such situations. If questions are asked in English the interpreter will put to you [Sasikala] in Tamil. You are going to answer in Tamil, which is going to be translated into English. If there is any problem in translation there are counsel to correct it then and there.”
When the bench was inclined to dismiss the appeal against the Karnataka High Court order, counsel said “We will participate in the questioning. If there is any problem during the questioning, we will come to the court again.”
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The Bench without expressing any opinion adjourned the hearing by three weeks. In her petition, Ms. Sasikala contended that the translated version of the evidence from Tamil to English was defective and not a true translation.
Questions procedure
The procedure adopted to translate the evidence from Tamil to English was also not in accordance with law. The defective translation would cause prejudice resulting in miscarriage of justice. She prayed for quashing the impugned order.