Bangalore: In a huge setback to J Jayalalithaa, a special court on Saturday held the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister guilty of amassing assets disproportionate to known sources of her income during her first term in office.
Pronouncing the order amid tight security, Special Judge John Michael D'Cunha held Jayalalithaa guilty of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of her income under Sections 109 and 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, said Special Public Prosecutor G Bhavani Singh.
The Special Judge, who had directed all the accused to be present in his court on the judgement day, will pronounce the quantum of sentence at 3 pm in the 18-year-old case in which Jayalalithaa has been charged with accumulating Rs 66.65 crore wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income from 1991-96.
Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi and her nephew and the CM's disowned foster son Sudhakaran were also convicted.
The judge pronounced the order in a special court set up in the central jail at Parapanna Agrahara in the city's southern suburb amid tight security.
Reacting to the verdict, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) workers mourned their leader's conviction, while Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam workers celebrated outside party president M Karunanidhi's Gopalapuram residence in Chennai.
If the judge sentences her to imprisonment for a period not less than two years, the AIADMK leader will stand disqualified immediately from the Assembly and may have to step down as chief minister.
Hailing the decision as significant, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said the verdict will an impact on Tamil Nadu politics.
Amid tight security, Jayalalithaa arrived in Bangalore this morning after flying in by a special aircraft at the HAL Airport along with the other accused and reached the court by road.
During the court proceedings, security forces lathicharged Jayalalithaa's supporters holding protests outside Parappana Agrahara prison complex.
Police are also closely checking vehicles with Tamil Nadu registration at the check post at Attibeli on the border. AIDMK supporters had gathered at the border but were stopped by police, who have been deployed in strength.
Several Tamil Nadu Ministers are already in Bangalore.
Platoons of Karnataka State Reserve Police, the city Armed Reserve and the Rapid Action Force are stationed near the court, besides hundreds of police personnel, including those in plain clothes, police said.
Prohibitory orders have been clamped in and around the Parappana Agrahara prison complex.
The Rs 66.65 crore assets case dates back to Jayalalithaa`s first term as the Chief Minister, from 1991 to 1996. It was filed before a special court in Chennai in 1997 by the Tamil Nadu's Department of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC).
The case was transferred to Bangalore's Special Court in 2003 by the Supreme Court on a petition filed by DMK leader K Anbazhagan who had expressed doubts over conduct of fair trial with Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister.
Jayalalithaa, who has waged many legal battles and seen several ups and downs in her political career, had to quit as the Chief Minister immediately after her swearing in 2001 following the Supreme Court declaring null and void the action of the then Governor Fatima Beevi appointing her as the Chief Minister as she had been sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case.
O Paneerselvan, a junior Minister in her Council of Ministers, was appointed as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. By 2002, she was cleared of all charges and sworn-in again as the Chief Minister.
(With Agency inputs)
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