It has been nine years since she passed away. AIADMK prima donna Jayalalithaa Jeyaram’s death had triggered a battle for assets worth thousands of crores. While the former AIADMK government led by Edappadi K Palanisami tried converting her Poes Garden residence into a memorial, it was handed over to her niece and nephew. But the fight for the assets did not end there.
In the past nine years, there have been income tax raids at her premises, heist, dacoity and ven murder in one of her most cherished bungalows at Kodanad. The murder mystery still remains unresolved amidst the legal battles over her assets wages on. And now, a Special Court in Karnataka on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by her legal heirs - J Deepa and J Deepak. The appeal challenged a trial court order with regard to the gold and silver ornaments owned by Jayalalithaa, which is in the custody of the Karnataka court. Judge HA Mohan, on Wednesday, directed the Tamil Nadu authorities to hand over the assets- Gold and silver and other movable assets - by February 14 or 15.
The ruling in the appeal came up after the Karnataka High Court on January 13 dismissed a plea filed by Deepa and Deepak, niece and nephew of the late leader, seeking a stay on the special court’s order. In their appeal, the duo had contended that the assets seized by the prosecuting agency or the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) included the assets Jayalalithaa inherited from her mother. These assets were possessed by the late chief minister even before the check period mentioned in the case and therefore it cannot be attached, they argued. They also contended that the conviction order of Jayalalithaa was set aside by the Karnataka court and could not be held in any manner as proceedings against the accused stood abated.
However, the court dismissed their appeal and passed orders for handing over the 21.3 kilos of gold, 1250 kilos of silver, 91 luxury watches and diamonds worth Rs 2 crore and a silver sword, 10500 saris, 750 pairs of footwear, etc to the Tamil Nadu government.
The court asked the Tamil Nadu authorities to come with proper bags and suitcases to carry the movable assets from Bengaluru.
The story of Jayalalithaa’s assets and the stakeholders have always triggered a huge interest among the people of Tamil Nadu. THE WEEK’s exclusive report on Jayalalithaa’s assets and the battle for it published in 2017, brought out the interesting aspects of her assets and the stake holders.
