Jayalalithaa's bail hearing in Karnataka high court under way

BANGALORE: The Karnataka high court is hearing the bail petitions filed by former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa and her three associates convicted in a disproportionate assets case.

Jayalalithaa's lawyers have pressed for bail on health grounds. Her lawyers have said she will not abscond as claimed by the prosecution.

The quartet, lodged in the central jail here, has also challenged the verdict of the special court convicting them in the 18-year-old case.

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Bracing for the anticipated entry of AIADMK supporters and leaders into the city from the Hosur border, Karnataka Police have tightened security in and around the high court and at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison where Jayalalithaa has been lodged since September 27.

The four separate petitions are listed at serial No. 73 onwards before Justice A V Chandrashekara, the regular bench dealing with bail as well as criminal appeals under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

On October 1, a vacation bench of the high court had adjourned the proceedings holding that it would be appropriate for a regular bench to hear these criminal appeals.

Citing her medical condition, Jayalalithaa's interlocutory petition for bail said she had suffered a lot during the past 18 years and is now suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.

She also claimed that there is no connection to her vis-a-vis subscriptions made to Jaya Publications, one of the companies that figure in the controversy and which the special court had held against her.

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The special court in Bangalore had on September 27 convicted the AIADMK supremo in the disproportionate assets case and sentenced her to four years in jail, besides imposing a fine of Rs 100 crore. The other three were sentenced to similar punishment and a fine of Rs 10 crore each.

Supporters protest against J Jayalalithaa's conviction in Coimbatore.

The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Chennai, the prosecuting agency, has opposed bail to Jayalalithaa, saying that she is an influential person and it will be difficult to secure her if she is released on bail.

The agency has urged the court to dismiss the bail pleas to ensure that the verdict of the special court is honoured.

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