A special court in Bengaluru on Tuesday, January 23 issued a directive for the transfer of valuables confiscated from the late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to the government of Tamil Nadu. It also directed the Tamil Nadu government to pay Karnataka Rs 5 crore through a demand draft for expenses related to the disproportionate assets case against Jayalalithaa.
Despite a plea to auction the jewellery seized from Jayalalithaa in connection with the case, the court rejected this request. Instead, it directed the Home Department Secretary and the Police Department of Karnataka to hand over the late leader’s belongings to the Tamil Nadu government. The court further instructed the Tamil Nadu Home Department to appoint suitable individuals at the secretary level to collect the belongings.
The court had previously ruled that Jayalalithaa’s relatives, niece J Deepa and nephew J Deepak, were not entitled to the confiscated properties. The special court rejected the petition from Jayalalithaa’s kin, with the judge ordering the transfer of the jewellery to the Tamil Nadu government.
The court was addressing a plea filed by RTI activist T Narasimha Murthy seeking compensation for the expenses incurred by the Karnataka government in the disproportionate assets case through the auction of items seized from Jayalalithaa. The court ruled that in order to compensate Karnataka for conducting the case, the Tamil Nadu government should pay Rs 5 crore. However, it clarified that the seized items need not be auctioned.
In a previous judgement, a special court in Bengaluru had on September 27, 2014 sentenced Jayalalithaa to four years in jail and fined her Rs 100 crore in connection with the disproportionate assets case.