Jayalalithaa Refused Bail, Her Party Urges Workers ‘Stay Peaceful’ BANGALORE, OCT 7TH J Jayalalithaa will stay in jail for now. The Karnataka High Court has rejected the former Tamil Nadu chief minister’s bail plea, saying the Supreme Court has sent out a clear message that corruption cases should be put on the fast track. The court rejected bail even though Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh told the court that he had no objection to Ms Jayalalithaa being granted conditional bail. Justice AV Chandrashekhara said in a packed courtroom that there “are no grounds” to give bail to the AIADMK chief and observed, “Corruption is seen as a violation of human rights of all.” Ms Jayalalithaa’s lawyers have said they will appeal in the Supreme Court against the denial of bail; sources said they could move the top court tomorrow. Ms Jayalalithaa has been in jail for nine days now. At Ms Jayalalithaa’s Chennai residence, where supporters had begun celebrating in anticipation of their leader getting bail today, joy turned to shock and grief in seconds as news of the verdict came in. Many supporters wept. Ms Jayalalithaa, 66, was arrested for corruption late last month after being convicted by a Bangalore court. She was sentenced to four years in prison and penalised Rs. 100 crore; three of her aides, including live-in friend Sasikala Natarajan were also found guilty. She appealed against her conviction and asked for bail and was represented in court today by famous lawyer Ram Jethmalani. Mr Jethmalani did not seek bail today on grounds of Ms Jayalalithaa’s health. He argued on technical points, citing precedent in past cases and even quoted Oscar Wilde. Ms Jayalalithaa says she has wrongly been convicted of misusing her first term as chief minister from 1991 to 1996 to collect assets worth nearly Rs. 50 crore, which were incommensurate with her declared income. Her trial was moved in 2001 to neighbouring Karnataka from Tamil Nadu to ensure it would be free of political influence. Her conviction meant that as per last year’s landmark Supreme Court order, she was immediately disqualified from office. She has been replaced as Chief Minister by loyalist O Panneerselvam.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 05:02:54 +0000
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