The Madras High Court today paid rich tributes to former chief minister Jayalalithaa who passed away on Monday and observed two minute silence before deferring further court proceedings of the day as a mark of respect to her.
Hailing Jayalalithaa for excelling in cinema and politics, Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said she was viewed as representing women empowerment.
In an afternoon condolence meeting which was attended by the Full Court at the conference hall, he said Jayalalithaa's governance was modelled on a welfare State for the benefit of the poor and downtrodden which also brought her political dividends.
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He said she was a multi-faceted and multi-talented personality who rose to the political pinnacle after overcoming hurdles.
Referring to various welfare schemes including the cradle baby scheme, he said initiatives of Amma canteens and distribution of free laptops were being emulated by other states.
"The tributes paid to her by both her supporters and opponents reflect their admiration for her political skills and administrative abilities."
Condoling her death, Kaul said Jayalalithaa passed away at a comparatively young age of 68 and "the state has thus been deprived of her leadership".
"We express our deepest sympathies to the people of Tamil Nadu, especially the followers of the late chief minister," he said.
All the judges observed two-minute silence as a mark of respect.
The bench then adjourned the hearing of the PIL filed by
Joseph till February 23.
It said the PIL of Gnanasekaran too would be listed to see if it raised any point not raised in other PILs.
Meanwhile, Madurai bench of the high court referred a PIL seeking a CBI probe into Jayalalithaa's death to the principal bench here, saying similar matters were being heard by the first bench.
Besides the PILs in the high court, the Supreme Court was also moved over the issue with expelled AIADMK MP Sasikala Pushpa approaching it for a probe.
However, the apex court had last week declined to entertain her plea, saying she should not have approached her directly.
Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on Sept 22 with complaints of dehydration and fever and later treated for infection. She suffered a cardiac arrest on December 4 and died on the next day.
