Setback for Sasikala? SC to give verdict in Jaya's illegal assets case next week

Chennai: Two months after her death, the Supreme Court on Monday it will pronounce verdict within a week on pleas challenging acquittal of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and her close aide Sasikala in disproportionate assets case.

Sasikala was on Sunday unanimously elected as the AIADMK Legislature Party leader replacing incumbent O. Panneerselvam. Sasikala is likely to take oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on February 9.

With the first accused in the case, former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa, passing away, the Karnataka government has mentioned before the Supreme Court regarding the deletion of her name from the list of accused.

Jayalalithaa was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act in 1996 for allegedly amassing unaccounted wealth.

The charges against Sasikala, her son V.N. Sudhakaran and daughter-in-law Elavarasi, pertain to the acquisition of benami properties with the help of Jayalalithaa. A special court in Bengaluru had convicted Jayalalithaa and her three associates in 2014 in the case and sentenced her to four years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 100 crore. However, the Karnataka High Court on May 11, 2015, acquitted Jayalalithaa and her three associates.

If the Supreme Court upholds the judgement of the special court convicting all the accused, it could be considered as big political setback for Sasikala and the AIADMK, said sources.