Jayalalithaa DA case: Arguments resume in SC tomorrow

New Delhi, April 18: The hearing in the J Jayalalithaa disproportionate assets case will continue before the Supreme Court tomorrow.

After a two week break, the Bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy will resume hearing on the appeal filed by Karnataka which has sought the reversal of the High Court order which acquitted the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and three others.

When hearing commences tomorrow, submissions would be made by the counsel representing Sasikala Natrajan, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran who were also acquitted by the High Court. The counsel will counter the arguments made by Karnataka which had sought to reverse the high court order.

Last leg of arguments:

The hearing by the counsel for Sasikala Natrajan and two others is likely to go on for three days. The counsel is likely to wind up arguments by Friday following which Karnataka will file its counter statements.

The Bench is also likely to take up another petition which had challenged the locus standi of the Karnataka High Court in hearing the appeal.

On the last date of arguments, Jayalalithaa's counsel, Nageshwar Rao demonstrated that the High Court order was right. He also said that the trial court had not appreciated all the material and this had led to an erroneous verdict in which his client was convicted.

Seeking to counter the argument put up by Karnataka, the counsel for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, L Nageshwar Rao told the Supreme Court that no firms were being operated out of Poes Garden. The submissions were made before a Bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy.

Rao argued that the allegation that firms were being run out of Poes Garden (residence of Jayalalithaa) is completely false and baseless. There were no firms being run from there at any time, he told the Bench.

The trial court erred in its order and never followed the rule of law, Rao contended. He said that the trial court should have gone into the evidence instead of coming to a conclusion. If the trial court had gone into the evidence, it would have found that no firms were being run from the Poes Garden.

Instead the trial court was too busy researching why Jayalalithaa and Sasikala Natrajan were living in Poes Garden, Rao also contended.

On the wedding expenses of Sudhakaran, Rao said that it was not right to say that Jayalalithaa alone bore the expenses. Two persons have already stated before the court that they had borne the expenses for the wedding.

The amount mentioned as the expense by the two persons was Rs 97 lakh, Rao also argued. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Jayalalithaa alone had borne the marriage expenses it was further contended by the defence counsel.

OneIndia News