Updated by admin on
Tuesday, April 29, 2014 01:42 AM IST
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on April 28 lifted its stay on the day-to-day trial in the 18-year-old Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, and ordered resumption of trial from April 29.
The apex court vacated its April 7 stay order, putting on hold the trial for three weeks due to the indisposition of Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), G Bhawani Singh, who said he had to undergo medical treatment.
A bench of justices B S Chauhan and J Chelameswar ordered resumption of trial from April 29 after senior advocate L Nageshwar Rao, appearing for SPP, said that the SPP had recovered from his illness.
The SPP had approached the apex court against the order of the Karnataka High Court which had dismissed his petition against the trial court order imposing a penalty of Rs 60,000 a day for seeking repeated adjournments in the trial and causing delay in the judicial process.
The trial court had, on March 14, fixed the amount based on the fees the State Government was paying the prosecutor to conduct the trial.
The apex court had, on September 30, 2013, quashed the decision of the Karnataka Government to remove Singh as the SPP in the case, saying it was a “malafide” decision triggered due to “switch over” of government in the State.
He was appointed during the tenure of the BJP-led Government in Karnataka.
The AIADMK supremo is charged with amassing Rs. 66.65 crore between 1991 and 1996 when she was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
The case was transferred by the apex court from Chennai to Bengaluru in 2003 during Jayalalithaa’s earlier tenure as Chief Minister in the interest of a free and fair trial.
Besides Jayalalithaa, three other accused in the case are her friend Sasikala, Sasikala's relatives Ilavarasi and V N Sudhakaran (former adopted son of Jayalalithaa).
