A Check To Sasikala’s Ambitions? SC To Pronounce DA Case Verdict Next Week

The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce within a week its judgment in the disproportionate assets (DA) case against former Tamil Nadu chief minister, late J Jayalalithaa. Others accused in the case include All India Anna Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary V K Sasikala, Ilavarasi (Sasikala’s sister-in-law) and Sudhakaran, now disowned foster son of Jayalalithaa. Sudhakaran's obscenely lavish marriage led to huge public revulsion and many analysts attribute it as a key the reason for the AIADMK's rout in 1996 assembly election.

In 2015, the Congress government in Karnataka had moved the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court acquitted her in the case. The Supreme Court informed Dushyant Dave, who was appearing on behalf of Karnataka Government, to give the court a week when Dave reminded the court about the continued delay in pronouncing the verdict in the disproportionate assets case.

Based on a case filed by the then Janata Party leader Dr Subramanian Swamy in the Madras High Court, Jayalalithaa and others were booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1996 for allegedly amassing huge disproportionate wealth.

The trial in the disproportionate assets case took more than 18 years to complete and finally in September 2014 a special court in Bengaluru convicted Jayalalithaa, Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran. They were all sentenced to four-year imprisonment with a hefty fine of Rs 100 crore.

The proposed verdict assumes huge importance after the stunning political developments in Chennai over the weekend. V K Sasikala, who was widely expected to be a backroom operator controlling the party machinery as general secretary, made an audacious move and ousted current chief minister O Paneerselvam from his office. The AIADMK legislative party unanimously elected her as the next leader thereby catapulting her as the next chief minister of the Tamil Nadu. Though Sasikala has so far not staked her claim to be sworn in as the next chief minister, any adverse verdict in the disproportionate case will be a huge setback to her bid to take full control of the state government and the party machinery.

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