BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court today ordered Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh and two other respondents to file objections against the writ appeal filed by DMK leader K Anbazhagan in Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case.
The DMK leader's prayer was that the High Court call for records and set aside the order passed by Justice Anand Byrareddy who had rejected a plea seeking discontinuation of Bhavani Singh as SPP in the case.
As soon as the High Court took up the appeal, the division bench, comprising Justices K L Manjunath and S Sujatha, ordered Tamil Nadu (Directorate of Vigilance And Corruption) and Karnataka governments, besides Singh, to file objections against Anbazhagan's writ appeal.
The bench also directed Anbazhagan's counsel C Nagesh to serve a copy of the writ appeal to Singh.
Justice Byrareddy had directed Anbazhagan and Karnataka government to approach the Supreme Court for clarification on the issue of procedure of the appointment of the SPP as it was improper for him to interpret its order relating to the bail plea filed by Jayalalithaa.
Justice Byrareddy had also observed that since the apex court in its order on giving bail to Jayalalithaa was silent on the issue of procedure of appointing the SPP, the High Court wouldn't like to interpret the apex court's order. The division bench adjourned the matter to February 2.
Meanwhile, Justice C R Kumaraswamy, who had admitted a petition filed by six companies seeking release of their properties attached by the court, ordered the companies' counsel to submit evidence to prove their claim that some of the properties, shown as part of the disproportionate assets of Jayalalithaa, actually belonged to them. As soon as the special bench began hearing for the day, the counsel submitted that some of the properties shown as part of the disproportionate assets of Jayalalithaa belonged to them.
Intervening during the submission made by the companies' counsel, Justice Kumaraswamy asked him to submit the evidence establishing the claim.
However, the counsel sought time to gather evidence in this regard.
An apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, had ordered that the hearing in the High Court on the appeal, filed by Jayalalithaa challenging her conviction and sentence in the case, be conducted on a day-to-day basis.
On October 17 last year, the apex court had granted conditional bail to Jayalalithaa, who was sent to jail by a trial court on Sept 27, saying that the hearing on her appeal against conviction in the High Court should be completed in three months from December 18.
The special court had held Jayalalithaa and three others guilty of corruption. The court had awarded four years jail term and also slapped a fine of Rs 100 crore on the AIADMK chief.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 10 crore on each of the three other convicts.