In a major victory for AIADMK, a special Bench of the Karnataka High Court set aside the trial court order convicting former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case. Justice C.R Kumaraswamy, who read out the judgment at 11 a.m, said the appeals of all the four accused, including Ms. Jayalalithaa have been allowed and they were being acquitted of all charges.
From silver screen to political dream
Acquitted: what next?
- Jayalalithaa can be elected leader of the AIADMK legislature party now and can be sworn in CM. she will have to enter the Assembly through an election within the next six months.
- The attachment of the assets will be lifted. They will be returned to the ‘original owner’ as mentioned in the documents. The court might have to wait for 60 days to check if anyone has contested against the judgment.
- Her sentence and her fine amount has been set aside. She does not need to pay the fine amount now.
- As the prosecuting State, Karnataka has the right to appeal to the SC against the verdict. Senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy can also file an appeal against the verdict as he is the prime appellant.
- If an appeal is filed against this judgement in Supreme Court, the duration of the case will depend on the SC alone. In Jayalalithaa's case, they fixed a deadline for the High Court to finish the hearing.
>SPP
B.V. Acharya came back as the Special Public Prosecutor in the DA case. The role of the SPP has taken many twists and turns in this case
>Live chat
Live chat on the verdict that acquitted Jayalalithaa. Our legal expert K.Venkataramanan answers questions as to events that will follow the verdict.
>Timeline of events
Jayalalithaa's prosecution was marked by many twists and turns over the years as the accused repeatedly sought legal remedy for various issues.
Published - May 10, 2015 04:39 pm IST