Twitter
Advertisement

Sasikala loses game of thrones; can't contest polls for next 10 years

AIADMK gen secy convicted in DA case; She gets four-year jail; can't contest polls for next 10 years

Latest News
article-main
VK Sasikala
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The vibe in Court number 6 of the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning was distinctly edgy, alternating between nervous chatter and pin-drop silence. The fate of a Chief Minister pushed rudely aside, a CM wannabe waiting in the wings, a late CM's aura-laden legacy, and indeed, the immediate political future of an entire state hung on the decision of a bench.

The bitter power struggle between Tamil Nadu's caretaker CM O Panneerselvam and AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala had enraptured the nation for more than a week. The high drama included all the trappings of a Tollywood political potboiler, including the forced seclusion of 130 members of the Legislative Assembly at a resort outside the capital city of Chennai.

But now, here, within the walls of India's highest court, the mood was sombre as the nation awaited a two-judge bench's verdict in the disproportionate assets (DA) case involving Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and two others.

And then just like that, almost in an anti-climax, it was all over. Lawyers, party members and mediapersons scrambled for the exits to convey the word to the world waiting outside: Sasikala was guilty!

Those three words effectively dealt a body blow to Sasikala's ambitious rise to the top of the state's political heap. Instead she will now go to jail for three and a half years – she has already served six months of a four-year sentence imposed by a special court in September 2014 – and cannot contest elections for another seven years at least.

The bench was stinging in its condemnation, saying corruption so rampant, it seems that every citizen would just have to "reconcile to the octopoid stranglehold of this malaise with helpless awe."

The apex court also ordered Sasikala and the others to surrender to the trial court in Bengaluru "forthwith"; however, she was yet to comply with the order till late on Tuesday. And since, a woman cannot be been taken into custody after 6 p.m. by law, this effectively gqve her some reprieve till Wednesday morning.

By evening, she had made her first move by removing Panneerselvam from the party's membership, and anointing loyalist Edappadi K. Palaniswami as leader of the legislative party, putting him in line for the chief ministership.

The bench led by Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose upheld the trial court judgment that had found Jayalalithaa and three associates –Sasikala and her relatives VN Sudhakaran and Elavarasi – guilty of amassing wealth beyond their known source of income. The trio were also convicted for criminal conspiracy and abetting Jayalalithaa, charges against who were abated because of her demise last year. In other words, if she been alive, Jayalalithaa would have been held guilty, too.

Setting aside a Karnataka High Court judgment that acquitted Jayalalithaa and her three conspirators, the SC said, "We have considered the facts of this case and in our opinion, the percentage of disproportionate assets as 8.12 per cent as computed by the High Court is based on completely wrong reading of the evidence on record compounded by incorrect arithmetical calculations."

In upholding the trial court's verdict, the SC also upheld the consequences of the trial. Sasikala and her aides were sentenced to four years' simple imprisonment and fined Rs.10 crore each.

The top court in its 570-page judgment observed that the case demonstrated "a deep-rooted conspiratorial design to amass vast assets without any compunction and hold the same through shell entities to cover the sinister trail of such illicit acquisitions and deceive and delude the process of law."

The apex court bench led by Justice PC Ghose delivered its judgment almost a year after all the arguments were completed and just over two months since the death of former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa — the event that set off the political shenanigans in the state.

In a concurrent judgment, Justice Amitava Roy expressed his deep concern over the menace of corruption in the society and exhorted citizens to be a partner in this "sacrosanct mission and be a crusader of a free and independent Bharat against corruption."

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement