Special court judge Justice John Michael D’Cunha, who convicted Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and others in the disproportionate assets case, has been known for his stern and firm judgements. In fact the way he handled the politically volatile Jayalalithaa case has proved a point that he was stern and upright.
D’Cunha, who hails from Mangalore, had started practise as a lawyer in 1985. He was selected to the post of district judge in 2002. He served in Dharward, Bellary and Bangalore in various positions, including as Secretary to the Chief Justices and as Registrar (Vigilance) of the High Court prior to his present posting.
D’Cunha, is the fifth judge to deal with the 18-year-old case after it was transferred to Bangalore by the Supreme Court in November 2003. The DA case of Jayalalithaa and others took nearly 11 years at the Special Court in Bangalore to reach the stage of final verdict, witnessed four full-time judges before it landed in the hands of D’Cunha.
D’Cunha was appointed to the post in October 2013 and he heard the final arguments afresh. He had passed strictures against the accused and their counsel.