The Disproportionate Assets case against former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa took a new turn on Wednesday as the Supreme Court gave a split verdict on whether the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) conducting the trial was authorised to represent the prosecution in Karnataka High Court.
The Bench referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for constituting a larger Bench of three judges to take a final view on this aspect. While this exercise is expected to take some time, the three-month deadline set by another Bench of the apex court, headed by CJI which is expiring on April 18, would stand defeated.
The decision by the court came on a petition by K Anbazhagan, a senior leader of DMK party, the political opponent of Jayalalithaa. Justice Madan B lokur agreed with the petitioner that once the trial is concluded, Karnataka was supposed to appoint a SPP for conducting the appeal proceeding. In the absence of such an order, the appeal proceeding stood vitiated.
In post-script, the judge rued the 15-year delay in deciding the case which he said depicted the complete failure of criminal justice system and needs to be remedied by taking drastic measures. The other judge, Justice R Banumathi dissented on the ground that appointment of SPP is case-specific and such a person is associated with the case through the stage of appeal till its final decision.
G Bhawani Singh was appointed as SPP to conduct trial of Jayalalithaa before a Karnataka court on February 2, 2013. The trial concluded last year resulting in conviction of Jayalalithaa and three others. She was sentenced to four years imprisonment for amassing disproportionate assets worth over Rs 66 crore during her tenure as CM between 1991 and 1996.
She filed an appeal against the conviction order before Karnataka High Court. In the absence of Karnataka appointing an SPP, the Tamil Nadu Government appointed Bhawani Singh as SPP to represent the State on September 29, 2014. Meanwhile Jayalalithaa and others approached apex court for bail. While granting her bail on December 18, the apex court Bench headed by the CJI fixed a three-month deadline for hearing the appeal. The hearing began on January 2 on a day-to-day basis. The Bench of CJI is expected to take up the matter on April 18.