Jaya appeal: Will Karnataka go to Supreme Court in appeal

Bengaluru, May 12: The Karnataka government has 90 days time to file an appeal challenging the acquittal of J Jayalalithaa and three others. The former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and three others were acquitted by the Karnataka High Court yesterday.

Advocate General of Karnatak, Professor Ravi Varma Kumar says that a decision will be taken after studying the order fully. He also adds that the law department in consultation with the Special Public Prosecutor and others will take a decision while stating that only Karnataka can file an appeal in this case.

Will Karnataka file an appeal?

The question is will Karnataka file an appeal. This is not just about the law, but there is politics involved in it as well. While the Karnataka legal team says that they are looking into the order and will file the appeal at any cost, sources also say that unless there is an approval by the Congress high command in New Delhi, the government in Karnataka may not go ahead with the appeal.

It is entirely up to the discretion of Karnataka whether it wants to go in appeal or not. After all it is the prosecuting state and the same has been said by the Supreme Court as well.

Karnataka will weigh a lot of options before it goes in appeal to the Supreme Court. There is palpable tension between the two states over the Mekedaatu issue. Will Karnataka want to stay away from the appeal and resolve this issue or would it want to take the TN government head on by targeting Jayalalithaa.

However, at the moment there is every indication that Karnataka will file an appeal. The only question is how soon and how strong will it be. Legal experts say it is a fit case for an appeal and nothing should prevent Karnataka from filing it.

State has 90 days to file appeal:

As per the law in case of an acquittal, an appeal has to be filed before the Supreme Court in 90 days. In case a conviction is being challenged then the time frame is 60 days.

"We still have time," says the Advocate General and only once all the aspects of the verdict are studied will we go in appeal to the Supreme Court he says. The state would also need to consult with the DVAC Chennai while filing the appeal as they had investigated the case in the first place.

Dr Subramanian Swamy and DMK leader Anbazhagan too were part of the case and can file an appeal. However, according to legal experts it is always best that the prosecuting agency files an appeal in such cases. While Dr Swamy and Anbazhagan can also file appeals, it would be stronger if the state of Karnataka also prefers appeals in the Supreme Court legal experts say.

What is Karnataka planning to point out in the appeal?

Karnataka while filing its appeals will raise several points which it does not agree with which were part of the Justice Kumaraswamy judgment. The question of calculating the disproportionate income at less around 10 per cent when the state had pointed out that it was much more will be under challenge.

The bigger issue that Karnataka as the prosecuting state has pointed out is why it was not heard during the appeal. All it got to do was file written submissions in just one day. According to Special Public Prosecutor, B V Acharya this itself is a major ground not to maintain the appeal that Jayalalithaa and others have filed.

Karnataka would seek clarity on this issue from the Supreme Court. Only the Supreme Court can take a final call on this subject, the Karnataka government would state.

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