DA case: Why Sasikala will not walk out of jail citing Jaya's abatement

Legal experts say that the order of abatement against Jayalalithaa may not help Sasikala. Had the court not found Jayalalithaa guilty, then the order of acquittal would have applied to all the other

When the Supreme Court passed the order in the disproportionate assets case, it abated the sentence against former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa. As a result of this, the sentence of four years was abated in the event of her death. Moreover Karnataka's review seeking a clarification on whether it could collect the Rs 100 crore fine was also rejected which meant none of the properties would be seized.

However in the case of Jayalalithaa only the sentence that includes the fine stood abated and she was in no way absolved of the guilt as per the verdict of the Supreme Court. Now her close aide Sasikala Natarajan has preferred a review in the Supreme Court and says that if Jayalalithaa's sentence was abated, the same must be made applicable to her as well.

While she quotes a 1991 verdict of the court which says the after the death of the main accused, the proceedings against the co-accused also will be abated. However legal experts say that this may not work in her favour. First and foremost the case is not at a trial stage for the order of abatement to be made applicable to all. Secondly the guilt of the prime accused has been confirmed in the SC and only the sentence was abated since she is dead.

Abatement:

Section 394 of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with the abatement of appeal. It states that every appeal under Section 377 or 378 shall abate on the death of the accused. It further reads, " Provided that where the appeal is against a conviction and sentence of death or of imprisonment, and the appellant dies during the pendency of the appeal, any of his near relatives may, within thirty days of the death of the appellant, apply to the appellate court for leave to continue the appeal; and if leave is granted, the appeal shall not abate.

Legal experts say that the order of abatement against Jayalalithaa may not help Sasikala. Had the court not found Jayalalithaa guilty, then the order of acquittal would have applied to all the other accused.

Experts also point out that not in all cases is an order of abatement made applicable to all the other accused. Legal experts also said that the order of abatement would not be made applicable to Sasikala and the two others. Here the SC has upheld the trial court's contention that the accused persons were guilty of the offence. While Sasikala will not get an acquittal, the chances of the sentence being abated too is remote. An order of abatement is handed out only when a person dies and the same does not become automatically applicable to the rest of the accused persons, experts also note.

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