Jayalalithaa Case: HC poses questions on DMK leader's abilities to fight court cases

Bengaluru, Jan 13: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh today filed in the Karnataka High Court their objections to DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan's petition seeking permission to intervene as the party respondent to assist SPP in a disproportionate assets case against her.

Justice C R Kumaraswamy, who is hearing appeals filed by Jayalalithaa and three others challenging their conviction in the case, enquired about the abilities of Anbazhagan to fight a legal battle in the court of law.

The Special Bench has been set up after

on December 18 last directed the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court to constitute it to decide Jayalalithaa's appeal within three months.

"Is he (Anbazhagan) a lawyer? Does he have any training in fighting a legal battle in the court under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act?" Justice Kumaraswamy asked.

"Has he (Anbazhagan) made any research on the matter. This will not lead anywhere." Moreover, it would be against the law to allow Anbazhagan to intervene as the party respondent to assist SPP in the case," the judge said.

Anbazhagan, in his petition, had submitted that he had intervened before the appropriate courts at all stages of the trial "to ensure that justice is not derailed by powerful persons" who were tried for serious corruption charges.

As the special bench assembled for the seventh day, Jayalalithaa's counsel L Nageswara Rao contended that the trial court had overlooked several judgements and not considered the binding nature of various income tax orders and decisions of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, which had accepted the income and level of expenditure pleaded by her.

PTI