Jayalalithaa Found To Be Guilty in Assets Case

Jayaram Jayalalitha, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu found to be guilty of corruption charges of wealth accumulation of more than $10m (£6.1m) that has no account & the case lasted for 18 years. The verdict given by a Special Judge John Michael Cunha after the case that battled for 18 years convicted Jayalalithaa, 66 year old, general secretary of the AIADMK. Along with Jayalalithaa three more members are found to be guilty in this case: Sasikala, V.N.Sudhakaran & J. Illavarasi.

Pronouncing the order, the special Judge held Jayalalithaa guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income under Sections 109 and 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, said Special Public Prosecutor G. Bhavani Singh. Her aide Sasikala and two others have also been convicted.

“The quantum of sentence will be decided by the judge later, it can range from two to seven years,” Singh added. She may face 2 to 7 years jail term in this assets case. This corruption case has been focused on her & brought into light by her rival political party.

Subramanian Swamy, Senior BJP leader has filed a petition against Jayalalithaa in 1996. Jayalalithaa, who had the best lawyers, “should know corruption doesn’t pay”. “The judge is very upright. We are fighting against corruption,” he said.

CPI leader D. Raja told Headlines Today that Jayalalithaa will have to “step down”. He added though that there was no immediate threat to the government, it has to be seen who is going to be nominated the next leader. Organization Secretary of DMK T.K.S. Elangovan said “justice was delayed, not denied”.