Is Veda Nilayam part of Jaya assets case?
CHENNAI: Advocate-General Vijay Narayan has been directed by the Madras High Court to find out whether Veda Nilayam’ in Poes Garden, where former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa lived for decades, formed part of the assets scheduled in the disproportionate assets case against her.
The first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar gave the directive when a PIL from one Thangavelu of Tiruchy came up on Tuesday.
The petitioner contended that the conversion of the residence into a memorial, where the entire conspiracy to accumulate assets disproportionate to their known sources of income took place, will set a bad precedent. He sought squashing of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s announcement to this effect and stay the proposed conversion.
Earlier, Vijay Narayan told the bench that Sandhya, mother of the former CM, had purchased the property long ago and it had no connection whatsoever with the DA case, which was registered only in 1996 that too at the instance of the subsequent DMK government due to political rivalry.
Jayalalitha was convicted in the disproportionate assets case by a Special Court in Bengaluru, along with her close friend and aide V K Sasikala, the latter’s relatives Ilavarasi and Sudhagaran and sentenced to four years imprisonment. However, the Karnataka High Court acquitted them all when they filed an appeal. The Karnataka government and the DMK then filed special leave petitions in the SC, which in February last abated the conviction and sentence in respect of Jayalalithaa in view of her death and confirmed the conviction and sentence in respect of the remaining three accused.