Jayalalithaa's Assets Including Poes Garden Bungalow To Be Attached To Recover Rs 100 Crore Fine On Her In DA Case

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa was not convicted in the disproportionate assets case on Tuesday following her death last year, while all her co-accused including Sasikala was sentenced.

BCCL

However, the Supreme Court, while upholding the 2014 verdict by a trial court has ordered the seizure of Jayalalithaa's assets. This is because the trial in its verdict had slapped a fine of Rs 100 crore on her, while the co-accused were given fines of Rs 10 crores each.

BCCL

"We are of the opinion that the order of confiscation/forfeiture of properties standing in the name of six companies, as involved, made by the trial court is unexceptionable," the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.

This means that Jayalalithaa's assets including her longtime residence Poes Garden Bungalow could be confiscated and possibly auctioned.

It will a blow to the Panneerselvam camp which has been campaigning to turn the posh bungalow into a museum.

BCCL

The move was seen more political than anything at a time when he is involved in a power struggle with Sasikala who has been deemed the heir of her political legacy and assets.

If the court order is executed it will be one of the rarest instances when the assets of a dead person will be confiscated to recover fines.

So what does the law say?

The legal precedence was in 2016, where the SC in the case of U.Subhadramma and Others vs the State Of AP ruled that property of a person who was accused of an offence of misappropriation but who died during the pendency of the criminal trial cannot be attached in the hands of his legal heirs on the technical ground that it is not possible to seek the consent of the district judge to attach the property of the deceased where he normally ‘resides’ or ‘carries’ on his business for the simple reason that he no longer ‘resides’ or ‘carries’ on his business there.

It is respectfully submitted that the apex court took an hyper-technical, pedantic and semantic view of the criminal procedure code. In the case of death, the term ‘resided’ and ‘carried’ on should be substituted. ?

However, this is not applicable in the case of Jaya as she was alive when the trial began and was already convicted in the case. The SC on Tuesday had only upheld the Karnataka High Court order which sentenced her.