New Delhi--The Supreme Court on Monday held there was no requirement for a fresh hearing on former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s appeal against her conviction and a four year jail term in a nearly 20-year-old corruption case.
It said that the Karnataka High Court should decide the appeal on merits after taking note of the evidence on record and after considering the evidence objectively and dispassionately.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra noted that although the continuation of the special public prosecutor during the appeal at Karnataka High Court was “bad in law,” there is no justification to direct for a de novo (fresh) hearing of the appeal, especially since it was a corruption case.
It asked the High Court to reject any written submission adduced by special prosecutor Bhavani Singh during the appeal and proceed to deliver the judgment after weighing the materials and ascribing concrete reasons.
The bench held that Singh’s appointment by the Tamil Nadu government was impermissible in law since only the Karnataka government was authorised to do so in view of the transfer of the trial to Karnataka.
The bench also allowed Karnataka government and DMK leader K Anbazhagan to submit their written submissions in the High Court, which would consider them before delivering the judgement.
The High Court is likely to pronounce its verdict by May 12, a deadline set by another bench of the Supreme Court for delivering verdict.
Indian Express
