Jayalalithaa challenges conviction in Karnataka High Court, seeks bail

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Chief J. Jayalalithaa today moved Karnataka High Court challenging her conviction in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case, and sought her immediate release on bail.

Earlier on Saturday, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was sentenced to serve four years in jail and asked to pay a fine Rs.100 crores in connection with a disproportionate assets case by a Bangalore Special Court.

The verdict resulted in violent protests by the AIADMK cadres leading to stone pelting and self immolation attempts to express their outrage against the verdict.

Jayalalithaa was declared guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income under Sections 109 and 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Her three other co-accused-one time close aide Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi and her nephew and disowned foster son Sudhakaran were asked to pay fines of Rs.10 crores each and sentenced to serve jail terms of six months each.

The verdict was delivered at a makeshift court in the Parappana Agrahara prison complex in the presence of Jayalalithaa and the other accused.

However, terming the verdict as a 'perfectly correct' judgment, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy had said yesterday that although Jayalalithaa can appeal against the verdict in the higher courts, she will not succeed, because the higher courts will uphold this judgment.

"Let her appeal, it is allowed in the Constitution, all crooks do it, but she is not going to succeed. The court has given a perfectly correct judgment, and I think that all the higher level courts like the high court and the Supreme Court will uphold this judgment," Swamy had said.