Karnataka decides to move SC against Jayalalithaa's acquittal

Throwing up a fresh legal challenge to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Karnataka government on Monday decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court against her acquittal by the state high court in the 19-year-old disproportionate assets case.

Three weeks after her acquittal, suspense over the state’s move ended with the cabinet deciding to move an appeal in the apex court based on the advice tendered by the law department, special public prosecutor and advocate general.

“The chief minister has directed me to file an appeal in the Supreme Court immediately,” Law Minister T B Jayachandra said in his media briefing after the cabinet meeting.

Noting the advice given by SPP B V Acharya, AG Ravivarma Kumar and the law department, he said, “And now the cabinet has decided to file the appeal” on merit.

He said Karnataka has stepped into the shoes of Tamil Nadu as it is the sole prosecuting agency in the case, which was transferred to Bengaluru by the Supreme Court for a fair trial.

Jayachandra said Acharya would continue as SPP in the apex court, which had appointed him in the same capacity before high court in the eleventh hour after it struck down appointment of Bhawani Singh as “bad in law”. Acharya had earlier quit as SPP in the trial court and was replaced by Singh.

Armed with the Karnatak HC verdict acquitting her, Jayalalithaa had made a triumphant return on May 23 when she became the chief minister for a fifth time.

Karnataka, the sole prosecuting agency in the case, had a 90-day deadline to file the appeal.

Acharya told reporters that the AG and law department had concurred with his view that it was a "fit case" for appeal.

".... According to me, looking at it from the point of view of law, no other opinion was possible, and I'm glad that the cabinet has taken the decision on the basis of merit."

Soon after the verdict was pronounced on May 11, Acharya had gone public, saying it had "glaring mathematical errors" regarding disproportionate assets of Jayalalithaa and it was a "fit case" to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

Ravivarma Kumar had also said the judgement has flaws and an appeal has to be filed by Karnataka as the sole prosecutor in the case.

Jayalalithaa was disqualified following her conviction in the Rs 66.66 crore disproportionate assets case by a trial court in Bengaluru on September 27, when Special Court Judge Michael D Cunha held Jayalalithaa and three others guilty of corruption and sentenced them to four-year jail term.

In his 919-page judgment, Justice Kumaraswamy of the high court had set aside the trial court's judgement and allowed the appeals by all the four convicts holding that the verdict and findings recorded by the trial court convicting her and three others suffers from infirmity and it is not sustainable in law.

“Acquitting Jayalalithaa and three others of all the charges leveled against them," Justice Kumaraswamy had said the disproportionate assets "is relatively small" and is less than 10 per cent which is within "permissible limit."

"The percentage of disproportionate assets is 8.12 per cent," the judge had said. The judicial conclusion was disputed by Acharya who, citing "glaring mathematical errors," had said the disproportionate assets exceeded income by 76 percent.

The high court verdict had come on appeals filed by Jayalalithaa, her close aide Sasikala Natarajan and the latter's relatives Elavarasi and V N Sudhakaran, also disowned foster son of AIADMK chief.

AIADMK's bitter rival DMK had strongly pitched for filing the appeal while the original petitioner Subramanian Swamy had said he would move the Supreme Court if Karnataka does not challenge the high court verdict.