Jayalalithaa DA case: Karnataka to appeal in Supreme Court this week

Bengaluru, June 1: The Karnataka cabinet has finally decided to file an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the acquittal of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

A decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting that was held at Vidhan Soudha, Bengaluru this morning.

The cabinet also decided that the appeal would be filed this week. The law department has been directed to draft the appeal and file it before the Supreme Court this week itself.

Draft strong appeal:

The Karantaka cabinet decided that it would draft a strong appeal. The law department which will have to draft the appeal will hold discussions with senior counsel B V Acharya who is likely to be appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor to argue the matter before the Supreme Court.

The entire process of drafting and also filing the appeal in the Supreme Court is likely to take another week. At the cabinet meeting it was decided that the appeal would be filed in a week's time. The Karnataka government in its appeal is likely to focus heavily on the mathematical errors committed by the High Court which resulted in the appeal.

B V Acharya had pointed out these errors which he felt had led to the acquittal of Jayalalithaa and others. He felt that this is the main point to be raised in the appeal and also told the government it was a fit case to be challenged before the Supreme Court.

AG's response to the government:

Professor Ravi Varma Kumar, the Advocate General in a strongly worded opinion to the government had said that this was a fit case to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

The Advocate General of Karnataka said that the government should not betray the trust of the Supreme Court. When the Supreme Court had transferred the case from Tamil to Karnataka it had done so taking into consideration the high reputation that the Karnataka judiciary has, the AG also said.

The Karnataka government must uphold this faith and ensure that an appeal is filed in the Supreme Court challenging the acquittal of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. It is not just about the power to file an appeal, but also the bounden duty of the state to move the Supreme Court of India, Professor Kumar also said.

High Court verdict not sustainable:

While giving his opinion on the verdict of the High Court, the AG said that the order is not sustainable. A conviction had been earned in the trial court, but the same was reversed in the High Court.

The High Court verdict in my opinion is not sustainable and hence it becomes a fit case to file an appeal seeking a conviction, the AG further pointed out.

The AG also advised the state of Karnataka to appoint senior counsel B V Acharya as the Special Public Prosecutor in the case. He said it is Acharya who should argue the matter before the Supreme Court once the appeal is filed.

Acharya is well versed with the case and had argued it at length before the trial court before he decided to step down in the final stages of the trial.

He was once again appointed as the SPP when the Supreme Court had directed Karnataka to file its written submissions before the High Court.

No sanction needed:

Last week the Karnataka law department had sought to know if there was fresh sanction required to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.

This opinion was sought as Jayalalithaa had taken over as the Chief Minister and since she is now a constitutional authority whether a sanction to file an appeal was needed.

The law department had also sought to know if the opinion of the Chief Justice was needed before appointing a Special Public Prosecutor in the case.

The AG however stated that no sanction is needed to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. He had also said that the Chief Justice need not be consulted while appointing an SPP in the case.

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