The 36th city civil court in Bengaluru has announced that over 27 kilograms of gold and diamond jewellery belonging to the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will be handed over to the state’s home secretary on March 6 and 7. This decision marks the initiation of the final judicial process aimed at selling her assets to mobilize the Rs 100 crore fine imposed on her.
Reported by Times of India, this decision comes nearly a decade after Jayalalithaa was convicted and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment in a corruption case, and more than seven years following her demise. The current proceedings of the special court involve the auction of both movable and immovable assets of Jayalalithaa. The jewellery, weighing 20 kilograms, will be sold or auctioned to realize the imposed fine, while 7 kilograms are exempted as they are considered inherited from her mother.
Additionally, Canfin Homes Ltd, where Jayalalithaa held an account, has already handed over approximately Rs 60 lakh to the special court in Bengaluru as part of the proceedings.
Special judge Mohan has directed the Tamil Nadu government to send the home secretary and an inspector-general of police from the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) to Bengaluru court to receive the jewellery. They are instructed to bring along a photographer, videographer, and six large trunks with necessary security arrangements for collecting the jewels.
Furthermore, the registrar of the city civil court is mandated to make necessary security arrangements with the local police on those two days for the smooth handover of the jewels to the state of Tamil Nadu.
Jayalalithaa, along with N Sasikala, J Ilavarasi, and V N Sudhakaran, was convicted in September 2014 by special judge John Michael D’Cunha. Despite their acquittal by the Karnataka High Court in May 2015, the Supreme Court reinstated the convictions on February 14, 2017. However, since Jayalalithaa had passed away by then, the charges against her were deemed to lapse. The other three individuals, however, were required to serve the four-year sentence and pay their fines as per the Supreme Court’s ruling.
