SC stays Jaya cases after earlier order of fast disposal:CM

Chennai, Jan 4: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the Supreme Court, having ordered speedy disposal of the Income Tax cases against AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala, had now stayed proceedings in the same cases.

Answering a question, he said the apex court had, sometime ago, ordered that criminal proceedings initiated by the Income Tax department against the two be disposed of within three months and had ordered that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis. But yesterday, the same apex court, on appeals filed by the AIADMK leader and her aide, stayed the proceedings, until further orders in the same cases, Mr Karunanidhi said.

The Income Tax department had launched criminal proceedings ten years ago against Ms Jayalalithaa and Ms Sasikala for not filing IT returns for 1993-94. Subsequently, the department had filed cases against them for not filing returns for 1991-92 and 1992-93, he said.

After the trial court in Egmore directed the two to appear before the court on January 29 for the trial on a day-to-day basis, Ms Jayalalithaa and Ms Sasikala moved the Madras High Court, with a plea to discharge them from the cases.

When the High Court rejected their plea, they filed appeals in the Supreme Court and it passed the stay order yesterday.

On Ms Jayalalithaa's charge that he remained a mute spectator after coming to know of the damage caused to the parapet wall of Mullaiperiyar Dam, Mr Karunanidhi said one could not expect the opposition leader to congratulate him for immediately taking up the matter with the Prime Minister. He declared that the state government would move the Supreme Court to find a solution to the issue.

Reacting to reports in a section of the media that the government had bowed to pressures and allowed cinema houses to increase entry rates, he said there was no change in the Government's December 23 order, reducing rates in over 2,000 cinema houses in the state.

Following representations, only in the case of two multiplexes, which had ten and 15 facilities, specified by the government, the maximum rates were allowed to be raised to Rs 85, Rs 95 and Rs 120.

The reduced rate structure in more than 2,000 cinema houses in the state would in no way be affected by the second order, allowing the multiplexes to raise the maximum rates, he clarified.

UNI