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President declines assent to Special Courts Bill

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

Chennai Feb. 21. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has rejected the Tamil Nadu Special Courts Bill, brought in during the previous DMK regime to set up exclusive courts to try cases against Jayalalithaa and her erstwhile AIADMK Ministers.

However, the President's disapproval of the Bill, passed in 1997, will not bring to an immediate halt the on-going trial in the disproportionate assets case against her or other corruption cases in the special court in Chennai, say officials here. Neither is it likely to have an impact on the TANSI appeals pending in the Supreme Court.

For, though the Karunanidhi regime brought in the Bill and Presidential assent was pending, the then Government went ahead with the setting up of three special courts under the existing provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, for speedy trial of the cases against Ms. Jayalalithaa and others for alleged corruption offences committed during her 1991-1996 regime.

But the President's decision to "withhold assent" nearly five years after the Assembly adopted the Bill on April 30 1997, has been communicated to all MLAs of the present House by the State Assembly department. In its newsletter to legislators, the department, citing the Law department communication, has said the President declined consent to the Special Courts Bill.

Though it does not have crucial legal implications, the rejection could come as a shot in the arm for the AIADMK, which has always claimed that the DMK regime foisted the cases.

Though the precise reason for the President's decision could not be ascertained, sources say, the obvious conclusion could be that he would have found the law redundant as special courts were already functioning and continuing to try cases. Besides, Section 5 of the Bill states, "all cases pending or to be instituted in respect of any offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, committed by a public servant holding high public office during the period between June 1991 and May 1996, shall be tried by the special courts".

As the law was proposed only to try cases related to a specific period against select individuals — Ms. Jayalalithaa and her erstwhile Ministers — , there is a potential for the Bill being viewed as "selective and biased."

The sources say special courts can be set up under some of the existing laws and no special law was needed for this purpose.

A senior law officer of the Government said: "The refusal of the President to give assent to the special law for constituting the special courts will not invalidate the special courts set up by notification, which was upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court".

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