A village could have been bought for Rs 53 cr: Judge

Special court Judge John Michael D'Cunha in his ruling on All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa and three accomplices observed that the value of properties acquired by them between 1991 and 1996 was determined on actual cost and not at current market value.

Convicting the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and the other accused, the judge ruled in 1991 Jayalalithaa had assets worth Rs 2,01,83,965, including assets of the partnership of Jaya Publications and Sasi Enterprises. By April 30, 1996, her wealth had risen to Rs 53,60,49,954 against legitimate income of Rs 9,91,05,094.

"This value is not the present market value of the assets. It should be noted that the value of the disproportionate assets possessed by the accused are determined on the basis of the actual cost incurred by them for acquisition between 1991 and 1996. During this time, Jayalalithaa, who was then chief minister, was taking Rs 1 as salary," the order said.

"That was the time when the accused could buy 900 acres of plantation land for Rs 7.5 crore and ordinary agricultural land for just Rs 10,000 per acre. At that rate, an entire village could have been purchased for Rs 53 crore," the order added. The magnitude of assets acquired by the accused had to be viewed in that background, the judgment said.

The Bangalore special court found Jayalalithaa's total income from all sources was Rs 9.91 crore between 1991 and 1996, but the value of unaccounted assets found in her possession on April 30, 1996, was Rs 53.60 crore.

"A heady mix of power and wealth is the bottom line of this case. Huge accumulation of wealth by the accused in a short span of five years is a telling example of how power leads to concentration of unlawful wealth, posing a danger to the democratic structure,"the order said.

The judge also found that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that against an income of Rs 9.91 crore and expenditure of Rs 8.49 crore between 1991 and 1996, Jayalalithaa, the other accused and the business enterprises controlled by them acquired immovable properties and pecuniary resources of the value of Rs 53.60 crore.

The court, apart from sentencing Jayalalithaa and the others to four years imprisonment, fined the former Tamil Nadu chief minister Rs 100 crore.