Jayalalithaa didn't leave a will: So, who's the legal heir?

CHENNAI: Number 81, Veda Nilayam, Poes Garden, was an address that lent its name to a neighbourhood that for 25 years was symbolic with the weight of political power.

But on Tuesday , a day after the demise of former CM J Jayalalithaa, a question mark hung heavy over the fate of the 24,000 sqft bungalow: As of now there is no news of a will that Amma has left.

Real estate experts in the city estimate the property at Rs 90 crore. Will her political heir apparent Sasikalaa Natarajan stay put in Veda Nilayam or will Amma's niece Deepa Jayakumar and her brother Dipak stake claim? Or will history repeat itself as in the case of Jaya's mentor M G Ramachandran, whose house in Ramapuram, Chennai remained mired in legal disputes decades after his death?

After the funeral, Sasikalaa headed back by car to Veda Nilayam. MGR did leave behind a will and nominate an executor to enforce the terms of the will. His landed assets landed in legal complications nonetheless. After two decades of court battles, Madras high court recently appointed a former judge as administrator of MGR's assets.

Jayalalithaa and her mother Sandhya purchased the Poes Garden property in 1967 for Rs 1.32 lakh. Jaya's nephew and niece could, if they want to, stake claim to a share of the Poes Garden property , originally acquired by their grandmother, legal experts say . Apart from her Chennai house, Amma's fixed assets and investments were worth over Rs 80 crore. In her affidavit filed for this year's assembly election, she declared her assets at a conserv ative Rs 118.58 crore. She declared commercial property and 14.5 acres of agricultural land near Hyderabad. All her properties, together, But for the Poes Garden bungalow and some inherited jewellery , a special court has attached all of these properties in the disproportionate assets case.

Jayalalithaa had a big bank balance too. She had deposits of Rs 10.63 crore in various banks and 1,250 kg of silver worth Rs 3 crore. This does not include gold and silver ornaments the court seized from her. The issue is pending in Supreme Court, which on June 7 reserved its judgment in the case.