Sasikala vs Panneerselvam: Supreme Court expected to issue order in DA case

If the order goes against Sasikala, it could also prompt more MLAs to join the Panneerselvam faction

The Supreme Court is expected to issue an order in a 20-year-old disproportionate asset (DA) case on Tuesday, in which V K Sasikala is an accused, who is currently locked in a battle with interim Chief Minister O Panneerselvam for rule of the state.

The development comes as the political crisis in the state, surrounding the formation of a new government by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the split developed in the party, continues to brew with Sasikala leading one faction and Panneerselvam leading the other.

The Supreme Court bench has listed the case for orders on Tuesday and the order is expected to come out anytime after 10.30 am.

It might be noted that while Sasikala has staked her claim to form the government, with support claimed from around 129 MLAs in the party, C Vidyasagar Rao, who is the governor in charge of Tamil Nadu, has not invited her to form the government. Panneerselvam, who resigned on February 5 as chief minister and paved the way for Sasikala to claim the position, on February 7 came out with allegations that he was forced to resign, instigating a revolt within the party against Sasikala and her family. 

He was later joined by almost seven MLAs and 12 MPs over the course seven days, while Sasikala took the remaining MLAs to a resort near Chennai in order to keep them together during the crisis. Several party officials were expelled by Sasikala for switching their loyalties and going over to Panneerselvam's camp. The delay, which has created a crisis in the state government, was said to be due to the governor's decision to wait for the verdict on the DA case.

If the Supreme Court rules against Sasikala and others, her chances of becoming the chief minister might become bleak, though she can appoint some trusted party leader to the post, similar to what Jayalalithaa did twice when she was convicted in cases and lost the chief minister's chair. It might be noted that twice, in 2001 and 2014, when Jayalalithaa was convicted by the courts, Panneerselvam took over as the chief minister, only to vacate the position in Jayalalithaa's favour when she returned with favourable verdicts from the courts.

The order could also prompt more MLAs to join the Panneerselvam faction, which could improve his chances of forming the government in the state, especially if he gets external support.

If the order is favourable for Sasikala, this would be a morale boost for her and her faction. Subsequently, she could then seek that the governor not delay her swearing-in ceremony.

If the Court remands the case back to the High Court on any of the grounds, including that the assets of the individual accused have not been assessed, it could again be a threat to her ambitions. There are also observations that each judge in the bench might issue their order separately.

The bench comprising of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy, after hearing the appeals of the state government and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader K Anbazhagan, concluded the hearing on June 7, 2016. The order comes in an appeal filed by the Karnataka government against a verdict of the Karnataka High Court in 2015, acquitting the then AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, her close aide Sasikala and her relatives J Elavarasi and V Sudhakaran. 

Justice C R Kumaraswamy of the Karnataka High Court, on May 11, 2015, upheld an appeal by Jayalalithaa and others, against an order issued by John Michael D’Cunha, the special court judge, on September 27, 2014, convicting Jayalalithaa under Section 13 (1) (E) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The order had sentenced the four of them for four years of imprisonment and imposed a Rs 100 crore penalty on Jayalalithaa, along with Rs 10 crore each as fine from Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran. Following the special court order, Jayalalithaa and others were immediately taken to judicial custody and had to spend around three weeks in a prison in Bengaluru. O Panneerselvam replaced Jayalalithaa, who was chief minister of the state during that time, since she was disqualified as an MLA. Subsequently, he returned the position when Jayalalithaa was acquitted by the High Court in May 2015.

Justice Kumaraswamy, in his order, stated that the quantum of disproportionate assets in J Jayalalithaa's case was a mere Rs 2.82 crore instead of Rs 66.44 crore, as had been alleged in the case, and this amount was within permissible limits. “The percentage of disproportionate assets is 8.12 per cent. It is relatively small. In the instant case, the disproportionate asset is less than 10 per cent and it is within permissible limit. Therefore, accused are entitled for acquittal,” said the order.

However, DMK and others have alleged that this finding was due to an erroneous calculation and an amount of Rs 13.5 crore was erroneously added to the income, which brought down the quantum of disproportionate assets.

The disproportionate asset case dates back to 1996, when DMK General-Secretary K Anbazhagan filed a complaint claiming that Jayalalithaa had amassed Rs 66.65 crore of wealth that was disproportionate with her known sources of income. In a raid carried out in 1997 in connection with this case, 800 kg silver, 28 kg gold, 750 pairs of shoes, 10,500 saris, 91 watches and other items were seized from Jayalalithaa’s Chennai residence.

Later on, in response to a petition filed by Anbazhagan, who expressed his doubt over the conduct of a fair trial in Chennai with Jayalalithaa as Tamil Nadu's chief minister, the Supreme Court transferred the case to a Bengaluru special court in 2003.

The case also mentions several entities involved in the alleged DA creation, including Indo Doha Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Signora Business Enterprises (P) Ltd, Ramraj Agro Mills Ltd, Lex Property Development (P) Ltd, Meadow Agro Farms (Pvt) Ltd, Riverway Agro Products (P) Ltd, among others.

Here is a time line of the DA case.

1996	DMK Government registers FIR against Jayalalithaa for having disproportionate assets
1997	Court frames charges against Jayalalithaa, Sasikala Natarajan, V N Sudhakaran and J Ilavarasi
2002	Jayalalithaa becomes Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
2003	Apex court shifts the case to Bangalore on a request by DMK leader K Anbazhagan
2010	Trial of the case begins in Bangalore
2011	AIADMK comes back in power. Jayalalithaa appears before the trial court, answers over 1,300 questions
2012	John Michael Cunha appointed as the special court judge
2013	Karnataka government changed special public prosecutor Bhavani Singh. He came back with a favourable Supreme Court order later. Special Court allowed Anbazhagan's plea for physical production of the valuables from RBI treasury in Chennai
2014	Conclusion of trial and judgment day fixed for September 20. Date postponed to September 27 citing security reasons
September 27, 2014	Specail Court convicts Jayalalithaa and four others in the case. Jayalalithaa sentenced to four years and fined Rs 100 crore. Rs 10 crore fine imposed on each of three accused. Jayalalithaa and other were sent to Parappana Agrahara prison in Bangalore on the same day. Jayalalithaa lost her position as Chief Minister
September 29, 2014	O Panneerselvam, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister, was sworn in as Chief Minister. Jayalalithaa challenges the Special Court order in High Court and seeks bail
October 1, 2014	Bail application plea of Jayalalithaa was put off to October 7 by the Karnataka High Court. Vacation judge Justice Rathnakala adjourned the hearing, saying that in her considered view, the appeals should be heard by a regular bench
October 7, 2014	Karnataka High Court refused to release Jayalalithaa on bail and rejected her plea for suspending the four-year prison sentence. Ram Jethmalani appeared for Jayalalithaa
October 9, 2014	Jayalalithaa moved the Supreme Court challenging the Karnataka High Court order
October 13, 2014	A three-judge bench agree to an urgent plea made by Jayalalithaa's counsel and Senior Counsel Fali S Nariman for an early hearing of her petition
October 17, 2014	Supreme Court grants interim bail for Jayalalithaa and other three convicts on stringent conditions
October 18, 2014	Jayalalithaa comes out of the prison after 21 days
November 12, 2014	Tamil Nadu government issued a Gazette Notification declaring Jayalalithaa's seat, the Srirangam Assembly constituency, as vacant. She was disqualified as the Member of Legislative Assembly for the period of her sentence and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since her release in terms of the existing Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951
December 8, 2014	Jayalalithaa filed a large paper book of her appeal with the Karnataka High Court. According to reports, the number of papers submitted is around 2.8 lakh
January 1, 2015	The Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, constituted a Special Bench of Justice C R Kumaraswamy for hearing of Crl.A Nos.835/2014 to 838/2014, the appeals filed by Jayalalithaa on day-to-day basis
January 5, 2015	Hearing on Jayalalithaa's appeal
March 11, 2015	High Court reserves verdict on the appeal
April 27, 2015	Supreme Court rejected Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh's appointment as 'bad in law', following which B V Acharya was appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor
May 11, 2015	Justice C R Kumaraswamy pronounces verdict acquitting Jayalalithaa and others from the case
May 23, 2015	Jayalalithaa swearing in as Chief Minister again
June 23, 2015	Karntaka government files appeal against the High Court order in Supreme Court
July 27, 2015	Supreme Court issues notice to Jayalalithaa
February 23, 2016	Supreme Court starts hearing on the appeal
June 7, 2016	Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy conclude the hearing
February 14, 2017	Supreme Court to pronounce judgement