New Delhi

Hearing on combining of wealth cases in March

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday posted for hearing in March, petitions filed by DMK General Secretary, K. Anbazhagan, opposing the clubbing of two disproportionate assets cases against former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa and four others by a special court in Bangalore.

A Bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice G.S. Singhvi posted the cases for hearing in March after senior counsel T.R. Andhyarujina, appearing for Mr. Anbazhagan, submitted that pleadings had been completed and the matter should be posted for final hearing. The other accused in the two wealth cases are: Ms. Jayalalithaa’s close aide Sasikala; T.T.V. Dinakaran; Ialavarasi and V.N. Sudakaran.

Mr. Andhyarujina submitted that the matter was pending for more than four years after the apex court ordered shifting of the trial from a Chennai court to a special court in Bangalore in November 2003. While 95 per cent of the trial in the ‘disproportionate assets’ case had been completed, it was not so in the ‘London Hotel case.’

However, the Bangalore court had directed clubbing of both the cases, he said and added that the object of the Supreme Court directing expeditious trial would be defeated by these tactics. He said that it required urgent consideration.

The former Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad appeared for Ms. Jayalalithaa, submitted that the court should consider and examine whether the petitioner, a sitting and powerful Minister in the State, could be allowed to prosecute Ms. Jayalalithaa. Mr. Andhyarujina turned to Mr. Prasad and said, “You are afraid of the trial.”

Mr. Prasad replied, “We are not afraid. You [Mr. Anbazhagan] filed the petition, not us.”

Ms. Jayalalithaa in her counter justified the clubbing of the two cases and said the special court gave a direction for joint trial after holding that the filing of the charge sheet was done in contravention of the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

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