TN crisis: Sasikala jailed for corruption; can't contest polls for 10 yrs

She has been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 10 crore ($1.5 million) and cannot appeal the SC verdict

The Supreme Court convicted a confidante of the late chief minister of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday in a corruption case that will put her behind bars and effectively end her bid to become chief minister of the southern state.

The court found V.K. Sasikala guilty in the disproportionate assets case, upholding a four-year jail term handed down by a lower court and banning her from seeking elected office for 10 years.

The verdict delivered a decisive blow against Sasikala, who had emerged from the shadows after three decades as a low-profile adviser to claim the mantle of five-times Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram