Southern States - Tamil Nadu

SC accepts DMK lawyer's plea

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI APRIL 26. Even as counsel for the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, pleaded that she (Ms. Jayalalithaa) be allowed to govern the State peacefully, the Supreme Court today directed the listing of all the TANSI cases for final hearing in July after summer vacation.

A three-Judge Bench, comprising Justice B.N. Kirpal, Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice H.K. Sema, accepted the request of Anil Divan, senior counsel for the applicant, DMK lawyer, R.S. Bharathi, for early hearing of the appeals on the ground that the questions of law involved in these appeals had to be decided early in the interest of the country.

The Bench then directed the listing of the appeals filed by Mr. Bharathi and the Janata Party President, Subramanian Swamy, against the judgment of the Madras High Court acquitting Ms. Jayalalithaa and others for hearing after the court re-opened in July after the summer vacation.

Mr. Divan drew the attention of the Bench to an apex court 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. Venugopal intervened and said that after the judgment of the Constitution Bench of the apex court unseating her, the High Court had exonerated her after carefully examining the evidence in the appeal filed by her against the trial court order.

He said there was no urgency to hear the TANSI appeals by the apex court when several cases of undertrials, languishing in jails were pending disposal for more than a decade. She should be allowed to administer the State, instead of looking after her cases, he said. Mr. Divan, however, said that it was not a question involving an individual or a personality as the question of law had to be decided in the interest of the country.

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