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SC rejects petition against Jayalalithaa

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI Oct. 28. The Supreme Court today dismissed a petition filed by a former DMK Minister, Arcot Veerasamy, against a Madras High Court judgment permitting the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, to prosecute a private defamation complaint against him through her power of attorney in a Chennai court.

A Bench comprising Justice G.B. Pattanaik, Justice Shivaraj V. Patil and Justice S.B. Sinha dismissed a special leave petition accepting Ms. Jayalalithaa's contention that the petitioner could not agitate the matter now when he had not done so on an earlier occasion.

In his SLP, Mr. Veerasamy submitted that Ms. Jayalalithaa filed a private defamation complaint (relating to a statement issued by Mr. Veerasamy on the alleged attack on the house of the former Chief Secretary, T.V. Venkataraman) against him through her power of attorney, V.S. Sethuraman, and it was taken on file by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Egmore in Chennai.

He submitted that the Magistrate had in April 1997 granted permission to Mr. Sethuraman to prosecute the complaint.

His objection that a power of attorney could not be allowed to proceed with the case was rejected by the Magistrate and on revision, the High Court in June this year dismissed his plea. The SLP was directed against this judgment.

In her response, Ms. Jayalalithaa had said that the issue of filing the complaint by the power of attorney had already been concluded. The petitioner did not argue or press this point in an earlier round in the apex court, and, therefore, it could not be agitated now, she said and sought the dismissal of the petition.

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