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Jayalalitha goes on trial

Trial in two cases of corruption against former Tamil Nadu chief minister and All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalitha Jayaram began before two special judges in Madras today.

Two witnesses were examined by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption before Special Judge 1 S Sambandam and cross-examined by senior counsel Virudhachalla Reddiar on Jayalalitha's behalf in the Rs 666.5 million disproportionate assets case against her and three others, including her friend Sasikala Natarajan.

In the other case relating to the Rs 101.6 million colour television scandal, in which Jayalalitha is the prime accused, two witnesses were examined by the Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department before Special Judge-2 V Radhakrishnan.

Judge Sambandam dismissed identical petitions filed by Sasikala and her relative J Ilavarasi, co-accused in the disproportionate assets case, seeking adjournment of the trial till they are provided Tamil translations of the case documents.

The judge pointed out that the Madras high court had not stayed the trial of cases till copies were translated into Tamil. He said they would be given the opportunity to recall witnesses for cross-examination after getting the translated copies.

He also dismissed Jayalalitha's petition for adjournment of the case on the grounds that she fears the judge is biased against her. In the recently amended Criminal Procedure Code, Judge Sambandam pointed out, there is no provision for adjourning a case merely because a defendant intends to seek transfer of the case.

The judge also dismissed another petition by Jayalalitha arguing that since he is a sessions judge, he cannot conduct a trial during the court's vacation.

Sambandam said that though a special judge is a sessions judge, he has to proceed with the case as per the law applicable for trial of warrant cases.

The first witness, P V Rajaraman of Pudukkottai, told the court that he had sold to Jayalalitha 3,800 square feet of land adjacent to her Poes Garden residence in Madras in late 1991for Rs 800,000.

Rajaraman told Judge Sambandam that slum-dwellers had occupied the land belonging to him since the early 1970s. In late 1991, a person named Dr Deveshwar contacted him at Pudukkottai and urged him to sell the land to Jayalalitha as the slums posed a security problem to the then chief minister.

Rajaraman said he came to Madras for a meeting with M Natarajan, Sasikala's husband, and negotiated the sale. He received three cheques signed by Jayalalitha for Rs 400,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 300,000.

The second witness, Chakravarthy, currently sub-registrar (Periamet), said he had registered the property in Jayalalitha's name when he was joint registrar (Madras) in 1991-94.

He also admitted to having registered the sale of another property in south Madras, located at TTK Road, Alwarpet, by a man named Manickam to a firm, Lexus Property Development, promoted by Sasikala and V N Sudhakaran, her nephew and Jayalalitha's erstwhile foster-son, for Rs 5 million.

None of the accused was present in Judge Sambandam's court when the trial began as he had granted them exemption from personal appearance for the day.

The examination of two witnesses in the other trial, relating to the purchase of 45,302 colour TV sets for local bodies, remained incomplete.

Jayalalitha, senior AIADMK politician V R Nedunchezhian, Sasikala, and her relative S R Baskiran were not present in Judge Radhakrishnan's court either. But all the other accused, including former minister T M Selvaganapathy and former IAS officers R Haribhasker, H M Pandey and Sathyamurthy, were present.

The first witness, Sivakumar, currently commissioner for disciplinary proceedings, said he was the state's Adi Dravidar (aboriginal) and tribal welfare director when the proposal to purchase the TV sets for Adi Dravidar settlements with a population of more than 1,000 was cleared.

The second witness, Mercy Milton Joseph, said she was deputy secretary in the rural development department when the complaint about the scandal was lodged.

While Judge Sambandam posted the trial proceedings in his court to January 27, Judge Radhakrishnan posted trial in the colour TV scandal case to January 25.

UNI

Tamil Nadu

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