Southern States - Tamil Nadu

SC to hear plea on TANSI case today

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI April 25. The Supreme Court will hear on Friday an application filed by a DMK lawyer for early hearing of the appeals in the TANSI cases in which the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, had been acquitted by the Madras High Court.

On January 22, the apex court while granting leave to the advocate, R.S. Bharathi, to file the appeal against the impugned judgment dated December 4 last, also gave him liberty to file an application for early listing and hearing of the appeals after the process of serving of notice to Ms. Jayalalithaa, her close aide, Sasikala, and others was completed.

In the present application, Mr. Bharathi submitted that these criminal appeals raised substantial questions of law of national and general public importance as to whether a Chief Minister could at all purchase a property belonging to the State Government of which he/she was the head.

Having regard to the nature of the matter involving serious corruption charges against Ms. Jayalalithaa and other top officials, it was just and necessary in the interest of purity in public administration that she and the others should not be permitted to occupy public office till the matter was finally adjudicated by the apex court, he said and prayed for a direction for fixing an early date for hearing the appeals. The High Court had adopted an `erroneous approach' in interpreting the law as well as the appreciation of evidence contrary to the principles laid down by the apex court.

He cited an SC judgment in K.C. Sareen vs. CBI in which the court had observed ``proliferation of corrupt public servants could garner momentum to cripple the social order if such men are allowed to continue to manage and operate public institutions.''

Mr. Bharathi submitted that this was an extraordinary case wherein a former and present Chief Minister had been convicted for the first time and later acquitted by the High Court and therefore the appeals should be heard and disposed of expeditiously.

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