As anticipated two days after her conviction former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa on Monday filed a plea in the Karnataka High Court challenging her conviction by the special court in Bangalore in the disproportionate assets case against her. In her plea filed by her lawyers, she questioned the special court verdict and said all charges of amassing wealth against her were false and she had made property through legal means and pleaded for bail.

According to her lawyer Ashokan, Jayalalithaa, in her application, contended that among several judgements the trial court has overlooked and not considered the binding nature of various income tax orders and decisions of the appellate tribunal of the income tax, which had accepted the income and level of expenditure pleaded by her. Jayalalithaa also contended that all allegations pertaining to the disproportionate case are false and do not have any truth in it.

In her plea before the Karnataka High Court, she said she earned money and made property through legal means by acting in films. Jayalalithaa also denied allegations that she has any share in Jaya Publications and was in no way connected with it.

The High Court is on Dasara holidays from September 29 to October 6 and the petition is expected to be taken up on Tuesday during a scheduled hearing by a vacation bench. It is also expected that renowned lawyer Ram Jethmalani might take up her case. 

Jayalalithaa’s aide Sasikala, her relatives VN Sudhakaran, disowned son of the former Chief Minister, and Ilavarasi also filed applications in the High Court seeking bail and challenging their conviction.

In a landmark verdict on Saturday at the end of a long drawn out legal battle of 18 years by Jayalalithaa, Special Judge John Michael D'Cunha had held her guilty and slapped a staggering fine of Rs100 crore in the Rs66.65 crore corruption case. The 66-year-old leader sought relief two days after a special court here sentenced her to jail for four years, as a fallout of which she lost her Assembly membership and consequently the Chief Minister's post.

Since the sentencing is for a period more than three years, only the High Court can grant bail in Jayalalithaa’s case.

A stay on the conviction would nullify the disqualification of Jayalalithaa as MlA. Unless the conviction is overturned by a superior court, Jayalalithaa runs the risk of being barred from contesting elections for 10 years, four years when she is in jail and six years after release.