VK Sasikala using old, failed arguments, say legal experts

Bengaluru: AIADMK general secretary, V.K  Sasikala,  her aide, Ilavarasi and the once favoured foster son of the late party chief, J Jayalilathaa, VN Sudhakaran   who are serving a four-year sentence  in a prison here after conviction in the disproportionate assets case,  have got nothing new to argue before the Supreme Court in their plea for  a review of the verdict, according to legal experts.

Pointing out that they were not government servants, the trio have claimed that the  Prevention of Corruption Act does not apply to them as a result and they have been wrongly convicted after the death of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister,  J Jayalalithaa. Denying  amassing wealth they  wanted the court to have a re-look at the verdict and set them free.

But speaking to the Deccan Chronicle, senior advocate, B V Acharya, who served as the special public prosecutor in the disproportionate assets case, said these grounds had been repeatedly raised before various courts, which had rejected them every time. So why bring them up again? Mr. Acharya responded, "Doobne wale ko tinke ka sahara hi bahut..."

Meanwhile, Supreme Court advocate, K V Dhananjay said every accused or convicted person under the law had the right to exhaust his/her legal options. "Such persons have every right to invoke their rights and it is not proper for anyone to comment on them even if the relief they are seeking is based on frivolous grounds," he said, recalling that Ms Sasikala and others had argued that once the main accused had expired, the charges against them would not survive independently.