DMK moves HC seeking removal of Jaya's portrait from Assembly

Chennai: Barely an hour after a portrait of AIADMK leader, the late J Jayalalithaa, was unveiled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday by Speaker P Dhanapal, the Opposition DMK moved the Madras High Court seeking its removal on the ground that she was found guilty of corruption.

When the first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose commenced proceedings on Monday, DMK’s counsel P Wilson made an urgent mention and requested the court to take up the plea.

However, noting that the bench has to hear a plea moved by Congress leader P Chidambaram’s son Karti Chidambaram challenging the lookout notice issued by the CBI, as per the direction of the Supreme Court, the bench said that it would take up the DMK’s plea on Tuesday.

The petitioner contended that Jayalalithaa was convicted of graft charges by a special court. Later, the Karnataka High Court set aside the verdict, but on appeal the Supreme Court found all the accused guilty of the charges. In view of Jaya’s demise, appeals against her were treated as abated, the petitioner said.

The co-accused were convicted, sentenced to four years imprisonment and properties belonging to them were ordered to be attached, the DMK counsel said. An earlier plea by DMK in the High Court seeking removal of photos and name boards of Jayalalithaa from government offices, buildings, public sector undertakings and government schemes by the state government, is still pending, the petitioner submitted.

The plea alleged that the Speaker had “arbitrarily” taken a decision on February 10 to unveil a seven-foot portrait of Jayalalithaa in the Assembly hall on Monday in the presence of the chief minister and deputy chief minister. The petitioner prayed for an interim direction to remove the portrait of Jayalalithaa from the Assembly pending disposal of the plea.