Will these former CMs too meet J Jayalalithaa’s fate?

Four months after the Supreme Court declined to grant relief to Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, a Special Court on Saturday decided her fate and sentenced her to four years jail an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case. Even as her political career stands at crossroads, there are several others who too are facing charges of corrpution.

Ashok Chavan, former Maharashtra CM
He, is accused of approving additional floor space index for Adarsh housing society in South Mumbai in return for flats for his relatives. He was also charged with illegally approving, as state revenue minister, allotment of 40% of flats to civilians though Adarsh Society meant for Kargil war widows and defence personnel.
He had to quit as chief minister in 2010. Before the trial court, CBI pleaded that since the then governor K Sankaranarayanan had refused to grant sanction, it had no material to prosecute Chavan and moved an application for his discharge. In January this year, the trial court, however, rejected the plea. On CBI's appeal, the Bombay high court has stayed the trial court order and posted the matter for hearing on September 29.
Chavan, a Congress stalwart from Marathwada region and one of its two MPs in the state, is also heading the Election Coordination Committee for Maharashtra Assembly elections scheduled on October 15.

Mayawati, former UP chief minister
Her assets run into millions of dollars, with several properties to her name. In the 2007–08 assessment year, Mayawati had paid income tax of Rs26 crore. Earlier, the CBI filed a case against her for owning assets disproportionate to her known sources of income. She claimed that her income comes from gifts and small contributions made by party workers and supporters.
On August 3, 2011 the Delhi high court dismissed the central government's appeal against Mayawati, stating that she has fully discharged her obligations by disclosing the identities of all of her donors, the gifts had been donated by her supporters.
The central government decided not to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. On March 13, 2012 Mayawati revealed assets worth Rs111.26 crore in an affidavit filed with her nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha. In July 2012 verdict, the top court had quashed a nine- year-long DA case against Mayawati on the ground that the agency proceeded against her without properly understanding its 2003 orders which were confined to the Taj Corridor case relating to release of Rs17 crore by UP government allegedly without sanction.
On October 4, 2012 a review plea was filed by petitioner Kamlesh Verma, which was dismissed by the apex court saying why CBI had not filed a fresh FIR in the case. In January 2014, Verma moved a fresh petition seeking direction to CBI for registration of a fresh FIR and in August, the bench headed by Chief Justice of India has issued notice to Mayawati as well as CBI. They are yet to file response.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, former UP CM
The Supreme Court on March 1, 2007 had directed the CBI to inquire into a PIL filed by an advocate Vishwanath Chaturvedi in November 2005, which sought a probe into the alleged huge amount of illegal wealth amassed by Yadav and his family members including his son Akhilesh Yadav. The CBI had collected 350 documents and questioned several people and found accumulation of assets by the family in the period between April 1993- March 2005. The CBI status report said in April 1993 Mulayam Singh had assets worth Rs18,25,266 and bank deposits of Rs16,4791 etc. The total family income from all known sources was put at Rs62,39,87709 and total expenditure to Rs44,562,436.
In its application, the agency sought for regular case against them. But due to political development and SP's external support to UPA government at Centre, in November, 2008, it had taken a stand saying his daughter-in-law's case could not be clubbed with Mulayam's case as he held no public office. In December 2012, the court dropped the enquiry against her but said the case against Mulayam and his two sons would continue whilw asking CBI to continue further probe in the case. As things stand today, though the CBI officially maintains that no final decision had been taken yet, there are indications that it could proceed to file a closure report.

Virbhadra Singh, Himachal chief minister
A PIL before the Delhi high court against him on the allegations of graft, money laundering and forgery during his tenure as a chief minister. The CBI on September 1 filed its final status report in the court. A PIL was filed by NGO 'Common Cause' against Singh. He also amassed assets disproportionate to the known sources of income, the PIL alleged and sought a court-monitored investigation by the CBI and the Income Tax Department into the charges of money laundering, corruption, disproportionate assets, criminal misconduct against Singh. The allegations also include cash payment of about Rs2.28 crore to Singh by an MNC steel firm during 2008 and 2010 when he was the Union steel minister.
He is also facing cases of income tax evasion, which is pending before the HP high court. IT commissioner filed case against Singh and his family members.
The allegation is the chief minister had filed revised I-T returns for assessment years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11, where his income showed about 14 times increase from Rs47.35 lakh to Rs6.56 crore.
The IT case against Singh was reopened after the revised IT returns were challenged in Delhi High Court through a PIL. The Income Tax Commissioner in his orders had said the agricultural income had dramatically increased in the revised return, which is an apparent attempt to justify the investments made in the purchase of insurance policies and the assessees had close relations and business dealings among themselves and Vakamulla Chandrashekhar and M/s Tarini Infrastructure Limited, which require coordinated and joint investigations in all cases.