Tamil Nadu Government Handed over Jewellery, Land Records Seized from Jayalalitha, Others
NEW DELHI, Feb 15: A special court in Bengaluru on Saturday handed over to the Tamil Nadu government about 27 kgs of gold jewellery, records of 1,526 acres of land, and bank deposits of around ₹10 crore, which were confiscated from former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late Jayalalithaa and others in the disproportionate assets (DA) case.
H.A. Mohan, judge of the special court set up to try the DA case, in his order gave the liberty to the Tamil Nadu government to either auction the gold jewellery, some of which are studded with diamonds, ruby and emeralds, or sell it to the Reserve Bank of India after obtaining separate valuations for the gold and the precious gemstones. A golden waist belt, a crown, and a sword were among the gold jewellery handed over to the Tamil Nadu government.
The court also left it to the Tamil Nadu government to either keep 1,526.26 acres of land, situated in the districts of Chennai, Thanjavur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Tiruvarur, and Thoothukudi, for public purposes like allotting sites to landless poor by forming residential layouts, or sell the land in public auction and use the amount for creating good infrastructure for health and primary education in rural areas of Tamil Nadu.
The assets were handed over to a team of Tamil Nadu officials led by Joint Secretary, Home, J. Anne Mary Swarna; Superintendent of Police, Special Investigation Cell of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Vimala, and licensed appraiser from Tamil Nadu, Prabhakaran. The process of handing over was videographed by persons authorised by the Tamil Nadu government on the directions of the court.
“A great purpose would be served in terms of the wishes of framers of the Constitution,” if the proceeds from sale of confiscated assets were utilised for the benefit of rural people of the State, the court said. “It will also send some message to the people at the helm of affairs to adhere to the framework of the Constitution and discharge their public duty cautiously and in the interest of public, without giving room for these type of cases [disproportionate assets]. This court hopes and trusts that the government of Tamil Nadu will take judicious decision in that regard and submit a compliance report to the court in larger public interest,” the court said in its order.
Senior advocate and Special Public Prosecutor, Kiran S. Javali, on the advice of the court, clarified that it was wrongly reported in a section of media that saris, sandals, and refrigerators were among the assets being handed over to the Tamil Nadu government. Mr Javali made it clear those items had been handed to the Tamil Nadu government long ago.
From the ₹20 crore deposited by the convicts as fine amount, the court directed the release of ₹13 crore to the Karnataka government towards expenses incurred on conducting the trial, which had been transferred from Tamil Nadu to Karnataka on the directions of the Supreme Court. The court directed the release of the remaining ₹7 crore to the Tamil Nadu government.
(Manas Dasgupta)
