Sasikala convicted in corruption case, gets 4-year jail

New Delhi, February 14 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday convicted AIADMK General Secretary VK Sasikala in a corruption case and sentenced her to jail for four years. A bench headed by Justice PC Ghosh asked her and two other convicts to surrender forthwith before the trial court.
The verdict destroys her chances of becoming the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Further, she stands disqualified to contest elections for 10 years as under the election law a convicted person cannot contest polls for six years from the date of completion of his/her sentence.
Amid a bitter tussle for power between warring factions of AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court pronounced its verdict in a disproportionate assets case against Sasikala.The Supreme Court set aside the May 11, 2015 verdict of the Karnataka High Court that had acquitted her and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in a disproportionate assets case. The SC restored the trial court’s verdict of September 27, 2014.
The other judge on the bench, Justice Amitava Roy, pronounced a concurring verdict in which he expressed serious concern over the menace of corruption in public life.
As the court pronounced the verdict at 10.35 am in a jam-packed courtroom no. 6, there was some commotion as many lawyers and journalists tried to go out at once.
The court said the case against Jayalalithaa stood abated after her death. The convicts–Sasikala and VN Sudhakaran and J Ilavarasi–have the option of filing a petition seeking review of the SC verdict.Earlier, she had been insisting that the governor must invite her to form government as she enjoyed the support of majority of AIADMK’s 134 MLAs.Tamil Nadu descended into a political turmoil following the death of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on December 5, 2016. Panneerselvam was sworn in as her successor but he could not maintain his grip over power.A three-decade-old close confidante of Jayalalithaa, Sasikala became AIADMK general secretary on December 29 and went on to be elected as the Leader of the AIADMK Legislature Party on February 5.