Sasikala conviction: What legal options does she have now?

She cannot contest an election for at least 10 years, and with a 4-year jail term, it looks like the end of the road for the AIADMK interim general secretary

It is the end of the road for AIADMK interim general secretary Sasikala Natarajan for at least another 10 years. The Supreme Court's verdict that convicted her also sentenced her to undergo imprisonment for four years as was prescribed by the trial court. With the four-year sentence and a bar under the Representation of Peoples' Act, Sasikala cannot contest an election for the next 10 years.

The legal options for Sasikala are almost over. She has one window of appeal under through which she can file a review petition in the Supreme Court. The review will however have to be filed before the same judge who delivered the original verdict. However, in nine out of 10 cases the Supreme Court never reviews its own verdict. In such cases where there a verdict is passed after a considered opinion, reviews tend to fail.

Moreover, review petitions are often filed when a point of law or a question on the Constitution arises. It is in very few cases that a review is entertained when the facts are under question especially in cases where three courts have gone through it in detail.

OneIndia