A Bengaluru-based human rights activist T Narasimhamurthy has written to the Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court and Bengaluru Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge seeking to conduct a public auction to sell the sarees and apparels of former Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa, and credit the amount raised to the state’s treasury.
Speaking to TNM, Narasimhamurthy said that the sarees and apparels of Jayalalithaa, which are perishable, were seized from her Poes garden residence on December 11, 1996 in a Disproportionate Assets (DA) case and have been kept at the custody of the court for close to three decades. “They will start perishing in a while and will be of absolutely no use and become waste. Instead, there are a lot of admirers and fans of the former CM and through an auction, these properties can be sold or distributed to the public,” he said.
According to the letter he wrote to the courts, the investigation team had listed that there were 250 shawls, 750 chappals, and 11,344 sarees which belonged to Jayalalithaa, and were later seized. “The cloth materials will lose their colour and quality, and the chappals and anything made of leather will lose their quality with time. Therefore, they will become substandard materials and become unfit for use,” he has said.
An inventory of things seized from Jayalalithaa’s house also lists 44 air conditioners, 33 telephones/intercoms, 131 suitcases, 91 wrist watches, 146 decorated chairs, 12 refrigerators, 1,040 video cassettes, and other valuable items including rubies, emerald, diamond jewellery and nearly 700 kg of silver articles.
Narasimhamurthy further sought the courts to dispose of the items “in accordance with lawful procedure or process that the court may deem fit” and use the amount realised for public good. He also added that the things might be sold through public auction “which may fetch unimaginable public bid amounts from die-hard followers (of the late CM) who may want to possess the items for their sentimental value”.
The Madras High Court, in May 2020, had declared Jayalalithaa’s nephew J Deepak and niece J Deepa as her legal heirs, meaning that they can claim rights over their aunt’s properties. So, technically, the properties in question could also be claimed by them.
When TNM contacted Deepak's advocate, Sudharsanam, he said that this was not the first time the activist has sought for an auction. “It was not even a petition, but a letter written to the CJI. We have informed the court that we are the legal heirs, and so further steps have to be taken,” he said. Deepa’s lawyer was not available for a comment.