Supreme Court Denies Petition to Unfreeze Jayalalithaa's Assets
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Synopsis
The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea by J. Deepa, niece of late Tamil Nadu CM J. Jayalalithaa, to release her seized properties linked to a 2004 disproportionate assets case. The court upheld the Karnataka High Court's previous ruling on the matter.
Key Takeaways
- The Supreme Court rejected J. Deepa's petition regarding her aunt's assets.
- The properties were seized due to a 2004 disproportionate assets case.
- The Karnataka High Court's ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court.
- Legal heirs claimed entitlement to the properties, which was denied.
- Jayalalithaa was convicted in 2017 for her involvement in the case.
New Delhi, Feb 14 (NationPress) The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition submitted by the niece of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa that sought the return of her properties which were seized by authorities due to a disproportionate assets case dating back to 2004.
A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and S.C. Sharma declined to intervene in the Karnataka High Court's ruling which had previously rejected J. Deepa's request.
“Should the prosecuting agency proceed with the confiscation and auctioning of the properties, which may include assets seized before the designated check period, the appellants would be entitled to the value, provided they establish this by legal means,” noted Justice V. Srishananda from the Karnataka High Court.
Prior to this, while dismissing the petition from J. Deepak and J. Deepa, Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge H.A. Mohan stated that “all properties were acquired through illegal means and thus ordered their confiscation. Consequently, these properties shall revert to the government and not to the petitioners.”
The petitioners asserted that Jayalalithaa had passed away before the Supreme Court's judgment and argued that the order of abatement was a clean slate for her concerning the case.
They claimed to be legal heirs entitled to the properties. However, the court clarified that the Supreme Court's order to abate the case against the accused pertained only to the punishment aspect and not the confiscation of properties.
Although the applicants are recognized as legal heirs to inherit Jayalalithaa's estate, the court concluded that given the circumstances, they do not have a right to the seized properties.
The Supreme Court had previously convicted the then AIADMK General Secretary and her associate Sasikala Natarajan, also known as V.K. Sasikala, in 2017 regarding the 2004 disproportionate assets case.
This ruling overturned the Karnataka High Court’s decision that had acquitted Jayalalithaa and Sasikala. On September 27, 2014, a special court in Bengaluru sentenced Jayalalithaa to four years in prison and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore.
She passed away in 2016.
