Bengaluru:
A special court here on April 3, which earlier directed Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and three other accused to appear before it on April 5 in the disproportionate assets case, later revised its order to exempt her from appearing due to security reasons.
The Special Court Judge John Michael Cunha had directed Jayalalithaa, her close friend Sasikala Natarajan, Sasikala’s nephew Sudhakaran and Sasikala's sister-in-law Ilavarasi to appear before him.
Later, the judge revised his earlier order and granted Jayalalithaa exemption from appearance after the registry of Karnataka High Court stated it would not be possible to provide her security at short notice.
Justice Cunha said she could be summoned at a later date.
In her first appearance on October 20, 2011 after the case was shifted to Bengaluru, Jayalalithaa had deposed before the special court in a closed door hearing in the court premises in the central prison complex amid heavy security.
The disproportionate case was shifted to Bengaluru in 2003 following a Supreme Court directive on a petition by DMK which contended that a fair trial was not possible in Chennai during her earlier term as Chief Minister.
