CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court for economic offences to fast-track the trial in the cases registered against VK Sasikala.
A close aide of late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, VK Sasikala has been booked for cases pertaining to violations of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA), 1973 over payments made for hiring equipment for J Jaya TV Private Limited in early in the 90s.
“We request the Additional CMM (EO-I) to conduct the trial as expeditiously as possible. The parties are directed to cooperate for the trial to dispose of the cases by avoiding unnecessary adjournments filed through frivolous petitions,” a division bench of Justices SM Subramaniam and M Jothiraman said while dismissing three petitions filed by Sasikala.
The bench noted that the cases relating to the complaint filed in 1996 have been pending for several years.
The ED had booked Sasikala, chairperson and director, V Bhaskaran, managing director and the J Jaya TV Private Limited for the offences under sections 8 (1) 9 (1) (c) and 9 (1) (a) of the FERA for making payment without getting permission of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) the charges for hiring transponder for telecasting programmes of the now-defunct J Jaya TV.
The payments were allegedly made through foreign firms evading the eyes of the RBI.
She filed three petitions in the High Court in 2019 including the one challenging the new set of questions contained in the questionnaire issued by the Additional CMM (EO-I) and questioned the rationale of fixing responsibility on her for the affairs of the channel. Another petition related to certain errors in the cause title of the case in the trial court.
The bench noted if certain curable errors may be noticed by any of the parties, such errors are curable and no prejudice will be caused to the parties since all of them, the company, its chairperson and the managing director are accused in the case.
Special Public Prosecutor Rajnish Pathiyil represented ED in the case.