HC set asides Special Court order against Jayalalithaa, others

The Madras High Court today set aside a Special Court order of 2000 attaching certain properties of some companies which were included in the alleged disproportionate assets owned by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and others even though they had no stake in them.
Justice Aruna Jagadeesan passed the order while allowing appeals filed by Jayalalithaa, N Sasikala, J Elavarasi and J Vivek challenging the order pased by the Additional Special Judge, Chennai on July 17, 2000.
"It appears that the properties owned by the companies/firms in which the appellants were not directors or shareholders are included in the value of disproportionate assets of the accused," the judge said.

The judge while finding fault with the Special Judge said, "In this case no notice has been sent to those companies/firms in order to find out as to whether any person has interest in the properties attached. In the absence of such notice to those companies/firms it cannot be said that Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance 1944, have been complied with."
The judge said even in the April 3, 1998 Government Order which sanctioned the prosecution also, none of the firms and companies were not shown as suspected benamies.
The judge said the investigating agency ought to have separately arrayed the firms and companies as respondents in the application filed under section 3 and 4 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance since these companies/firms are independent juristic persons, as held by the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court.

He sent back the matter to the Special Judge, Bangalore, who is hearing the disproportionate wealth case of Jayalalithaa and others, for a fresh disposal by directing the prosecution to implead all the firms and companies mentioned as respondents and dispose of the applications at the first instance by strictly following the procedures contemplated in the Criminal Law (Amendment) ordinance and pass in accordance with law.