The Hindu : SC notice to Centre on DMK's petition

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

SC notice to Centre on DMK's petition

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI April 28. The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Centre on an application from the DMK seeking to implead the Union Government in the petition for the transfer of two wealth cases against the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK MP, T.T.V. Dinakaran, N. Sasikalaa, Ilavarasi and V.N. Sudhakaran.

On February 28, the court, while staying the proceedings in the two cases pending before a special court in Chennai, ordered notice to the Tamil Nadu Government, Ms. Jayalalithaa, and others. Today's notice was issued to the Centre on the impleading application, which formed part of the transfer petition.

The petitioner had contended that if the two wealth cases were conducted in Chennai under the regime of Ms. Jayalalithaa, fair trial would not take place and, therefore, they should be tried in a court outside Tamil Nadu.

A Bench, comprising Justice S.N. Variava and Justice B.N. Agrawal, also issued notice to the Centre, Tamil Nadu, Ms. Jayalalithaa and others on an application from the Janata Party president, Subramanian Swamy, seeking to implead himself in support of the DMK general secretary, K. Anbazhagan, on the ground that he was the original complainant in the case against Ms. Jayalalithaa.

Ms. Jayalalithaa, the State Government and others had filed their responses, stating that the DMK had misled the court and obtained an interim stay. Describing the DMK's move as an abuse of the judicial process, they prayed for vacating the stay.

The Bench granted four weeks' time to the DMK to file its rejoinder to these responses and adjourned the proceedings, which are expected to resume in July after the court's summer vacation.

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