Former Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa's case tops New Year agenda of rival parties

CHENNAI: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets case finds its place in the unspoken New Year resolutions of both the state's main Dravidian parties-arch rivals AIADMK and DMK.

With assembly elections in 2016, the appeal in the Karnataka High Court against the verdict will be the prime focus of the two parties that have been ruling Tamil Nadu alternatively for the last two decades.The lower court decision had forced the AIADMK leader to step down from the post of chief minister and nominate O Panneerselvam in her stead in September.

While AIADMK hopes to see the verdict overturned quickly, DMK will hope for the opposite.

Jayalalithaa's senior counsel B Kumar told ET he expected the Karnataka High Court to announce the bench to hear the appeal soon.

“We are... hoping proceedings will commence by January 12,'' he said.``We are hoping that if the case is heard on a day-to-day basis, it will be completed by April 2015 in the Karnataka High Court. There are no documents to be submitted from our end, we have completed that process.'' Sources tracking developments say that if the high court verdict goes against it, the AIADMK will be hoping to take it to the Su preme Court and push for an acquittal before the year ends.

The DMK on the other hand will be hoping to see that the case is not rushed through. An acquittal for Jayalalithaa in this 18-year-long corruption case could mean that she emerges stronger ahead of the 2016 assembly elections, making things difficult for the DMK, which is sorting out internal issues.

DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan had on December 23, 2014, written to the Karnataka chief secretary seeking the appointment of a new special public prosecutor.

“We want to ensure that the due process of law should be followed,“ DMK lawyer A Saravanan said. “We feel that there will be a travesty of justice if Bhavani Singh continues as the special public prosecutor in the case which is coming up for hearing in the Karnataka High Court.“