Jayalalithaa verdict appeal: Karnataka seeks fresh clarifications

Bengaluru, May 27: Even as the Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah has made it clear that the decision to file an appeal in the J Jayalalithaa case will be decided by the cabinet, the government has sought two clarifications in this regard.

The law department has once again sought clarifications pertaining to the appeal and an opinion from the legal experts is awaited in this regard.

The legal department of Karnataka seeks to know if they need a sanction to file an appeal in the Supreme Court considering J Jayalalithaa has taken over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Two clarifications sought

The Karnataka law department wants to know if they would need to seek a sanction to file an appeal or Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court. The opinion has been sought considering Jayalalithaa now holds a Constitutional post in the wake of her being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

While an opinion in this regard would be sent back by today, the law clearly states that no fresh sanction to this effect is required. The case is not at the trial stage and only in case of a fresh prosecution will a sanction by a governor or court be required in case the case is against a Chief Minister.

Should we seek Chief Justice's permission

The second point in question is regarding the appointment of a Special Public Prosecutor. The Karnataka law department wants to know if they would need to seek the consent of the Chief Justice while appointing a Special Public Prosecutor to argue the case before the Supreme Court.

Legal experts however state that the permission of the Chief Justice is not needed to appoint a special public prosecutor. Karnataka being the prosecuting agency will have the final word on the appointment of a Special Public Prosecutor.

Hence there is no need to place any such file before the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court, legal experts also say.

Not filing not an option

Legal experts say that while Karnataka is trying to delay filing of an appeal before the Supreme Court, it however does not have the option not to file an appeal. Several opinions given to the Karnataka government following the verdict of acquittal by the High Court have stated that Karnataka has to file an appeal.

The Special Public Prosecutor, B V Acharya and the Advocate General Professor Ravi Varma Kumar in their opinion have stated that it is a fit case to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. Acharya had also pointed out arithmetic errors in the High Court verdict which he alleged was the result of the acquittal.

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