Karnataka Court Rejects Jayalalithaa’s Bail

Oct 07, 2014 Tushita Politics 0

After senior counsel Ram Jethmalani pleaded for suspension of the sentence by the Special Court which had sent former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to four years in jail, the Court has refused to grant bail to Jayalalitha.

Jailed AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa must be granted immediate bail pending hearing of her appeal against the verdict of the Special Court convicting her in the disproportionate assets case, senior counsel Jethmalani appearing for her told the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday.

Jethmalani pleaded for suspending the sentence pending appeal under Section 389 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Under Section 389, pending any appeal by a convicted person, the Appellate Court may order that the execution of the sentence or order appealed against be suspended. Also, if the person is in confinement, that he or she be released on bail, or on own bond.

The “regular practice” was to give bail, Jethmalani told Justice A V Chandrashekhara, who took up the matter which was posted for today by the vacation bench on October 1.

Jethmalani cited the Lalu Prasad case in the fodder scam, in which he appeared for him, to press for bail for Jayalalithaa, who is lodged at Parapana Agrahara central prison here since September 27.

The High Court had refused bail in the Lalu case but it was granted by the Supreme Court, he said.

Jethmalani also said appeals should be heard within a reasonable period of time.

He said there was nothing disclosed in the conduct of the Jayalalithaa to show that she might abscond.

Criticising the judgement of the Special Court in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate case, he said assets prior to the period between 1991 and 1996 (when Jayalalithaa was Chief Minister) could not be taken into account.

Matters in favour of the accused must be treated with equal importance, he said. The accused must stand a chance unless the prosecution can prove that it is absolutely false.

After Jethmalani’s strong arguments, there were speculations that the Court will grant her conditional bail.

The fake news that bail was approved was floated on TV News Channels and brought back the smiles on the AIADMK activists’ faces and the entire Tamil Nadu went into to celebrations. But later the bomb of bail rejection was dropped by the high court of Karnataka.

The court then adjourned for a break. But later when the proceedings resumed, the court The Karnataka High Court said it found no reason to suspend her conviction.

This came as severe blow for Jaya and team. They are under a huge pressure for the past fortnight. The political wind in Tamil Nadu is back into faster currents and the equations are to be re-evaluated.

As a result the Jayalalithaa collapsed after hearing the verdict and jail doctor was rushed for medical aid.

Security had been tight in the southern city of Bangalore, where the Karnataka High Court is located, for Tuesday’s hearing.

bangalore, disproportionate assets, high court, karnataka, politics

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Tushita

Tushita is a political writer at thenational.net. Her deep rooted interest in politics, passion for writing and craze for travelling define her. Writing since her school days, she aspires to write lifelong and make the world a happier place to live with the power of her pen.