DMK leader seeks reversal of Jaya's acquittal in DA case

A DMK leader today told the Supreme Court that Karnataka High Court had committed "gross error" in calculating the alleged disproportionate assets of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and sought reversal of the verdict.
K Anbazhagan, who had initially moved the court against the AIADMK leader, has filed an affidavit supporting the Karnataka government's appeal against the HC's decision to acquit the Chief Minister, saying the disproportionate assets were beyond the permissible limit of 10 per cent.
"The High Court has committed gross mathematical miscalculation of loans received by the accused from nationalised banks for calculation of disproportionate assets which has vitiated the entire findings of the High Court, consequentially rendering the judgment of acquittal bad in law.

"The allegation that the findings given in the case in this regard are clear and specific without leaving any doubt about the decision is totally wrong and the respondent is glossing over the gross calculation error going to the root of the case.
"Similarly, the HC has grossly erred in taking into consideration the entire sanctioned loan amounts as income, without considering the actual amount availed as loan as well as the repayment of loans," the 39-page affidavit alleged.
The DMK leader, who has filed a separate appeal against the acquittal of Jayalalithaa, said that the lower court had conducted "meticulous analysis" of the unaccounted assets of the accused persons and held that the DA was to the extent of Rs 53.60 crore.

He has alleged mathematical miscalculation by the high court in arriving at the final figure of DA and said that 10 loan amounts of the accused taken from nationalised banks have been treated as income.

It led the high court to arrive at "total figure of Rs 24,17,31,274", the affidavit said.
Dealing in details the financial aspects of the case, the DMK leader said that instead of 8.2 per cent DA, as arrived by the high court, the disproportionate assets stand at 76.7 per cent.
"Hence in view of the above higher percentage of disproportionate assets, there will be no scope for applying the formula of 10 per cent in Krishnand Agnihotri's case (1977) or 20 per cent permissible limit of Andhra Pradesh Government Order, assuming that they are applicable to the instant case and acquitting the accused for want of disproportionate assets," the affidavit said.

He also craved leave of the court to file additional affidavit if required.
The Karnataka High Court order had on May 11 ruled that the AIADMK supremo's conviction by the special court suffered from infirmity and was not sustainable in law, clearing the decks for her return as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
Karnataka government had, in its appeal against the May 11 verdict, taken the ground that the state government's prosecuting agency was not made a party before the High court.
The petition, filed through advocate Joseph Aristotle, had also claimed that the High Court erred in computing the disproportionate assets of the AIADMK leader.

The state government had in the petition asked whether the high court had "erred in law" by according the benefit of doubt to Jayalalithaa in pursuance of a Supreme Court judgment holding that an accused can be acquitted if his or her disproportionate assets was to the extent of 10 per cent.
It also claimed that the high court has erred in law in overruling the preliminary objections raised by the state government and added that the accused had filed their appeals against conviction without impleading Karnataka as a party.
The special court had last year held Jayalalithaa guilty of corruption and sentenced her to four years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore.