The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa on the condition that she will not take more than two months to file her appeal challenging her conviction in the disproportionate assets case before the Karnataka High Court.
The terms of the bail bond and surety would be fixed by the trial court after which Jayalalithaa and other accused will walk out of Parappana Agrahara high security jail on the outskirts of Bangalore on Saturday.
Suspending her sentence along with that of three other accused — her close aide Sasikala, relatives VN Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi — the apex Bench headed by Chief Justice Hl Dattu fixed December 18 as the next date of hearing.
“We take your word,” the Bench told senior advocate Fali Nariman, who appeared for the former CM and assured that there won’t be any delay in filing of the appeal. “If the paperbook is not ready we won’t give you one more day,” the Bench said.
As the trial in the case had prolonged for 18 years, the court blamed Jayalalithaa for causing the delay and was initially hesitant to give her relief. The Bench, also comprising Justices Madan B lokur and AK Sikri, said, “Should we not take into account your previous conduct before the trial court and High Court where you allowed the case to drag for years. If we suspend your sentence, you may take two decades to complete the appeal.”
At that point, Nariman said, “It may have been the game before but at the moment it will only affect my client considering her health.” In the absence of the prosecution, the only opposition to her bail came from senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, the complainant in the case. Swamy drew the court’s attention to the lawlessness that prevailed in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the past three weeks after Jayalalithaa’s conviction. Caricatures of judges were drawn to insult the judiciary and Kannadigas were openly threatened, Swamy said.
However, the Bench said, “If you say all this is at her instigation people are doing it, we are not willing to accept it.” Swamy went on to complain that even he was threatened by AIADMK supporters from entering Tamil Nadu.
The court asked Nariman to convey to his counsels that any such incident should be stopped. “If Swamy says on the next date that he was harassed we will not tolerate it,” the bench said.
Nariman assured that he will ask his client to issue a directive in this regard. “She has to maintain political morality,” he said. He even volunteered to confine his client at her residence except for medical visits. But the court did not wish to impose such “unusual” condition suggesting, “This country believes in Article 21.”
later in the evening, Jayalalithaa issued a statement from the jail itself, asking the party cadre not to violate discipline and decorum. She also asked AIADMK leaders as well as the cadre not to comment on the court verdicts and stay away from criticising the political rivals on this count.
After the Karnataka High Court refused bail to Jayalalithaa, her legal team had an onerous task at hand to get her relief, with the Supreme Court being the last court to allow her bail. Though the apex bench agreed with the HC finding that the case was a “white-collar” crime, Nariman argued that he did not seek stay on conviction but suspension of sentence which has been held to be the general rule by apex court in several decisions involving charges of corruption.
On the next date of hearing, the bench hinted that it may consider expediting the appeal to be disposed by the HC preferably in three months from the date of listing.
In Bangalore, Jayalalithaa’s lawyer B Kumar said they would furnish order copy on Saturday to secure her release. “Jayalalithaa will be released tomorrow because we have yet to complete formalities for her release from the prison,” he said.” DIG Prisons PM Jaisimha said as formalities could not be completed she will be surely released on Saturday.
When TV channels flashed the news that SC granted bail to Amma, AIADMK supporters broke out into celebrations, bursting crackers, distributing sweets and dancing in front of the prison.
Over 1,000 policemen on duty, apart from senior officials, including five DCPs were deployed to control AIADMK cadres. City Armed Reserve Force was also deployed in and around the Jail complex. Security along the our road on Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, about 20 km from the prison complex, was stepped up to prevent any untoward incident as many AIADMK supporters have been camping in the area in various lodges and resorts, anticipating their leader’s release. The entry point on the road leading to the jail is blocked at least a km away from away from it.