Jaya, Sasikala had jewellery, cars worth crores: SC

New Delhi: Gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 2.51 crore and wrist watches worth Rs 15.9 lakh were part of the Rs 55 crore assets amassed by late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa, her close aide V K Sasikala and two others.

Besides Jayalalithaa against whom the proceedings got abated owing to her death, Sasikala and her two relatives were convicted and sentenced by the Supreme Court to four year jail term in the disproportionate assets case.

A bench of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy, while upholding trial court’s valuation of assets of the convicts during the check period of 1991-1996, noted that besides jewellery and wrist watches, they also owned vehicles worth Rs almost 1.30 crore and over 400 kg silver worth Rs 20.8 lakh.

The trial court, however, did not consider the prosecution’s claim that they possessed sarees and footwear worth Rs 92.4 lakh and Rs two lakh respectively.

Putting its seal of approval on the computation of assets done by the special trial court, it said the convicts, who resided at Jayalalithaa’s Poes Garden residence in Chennai, collectively possessed immovable properties worth Rs 20.07 crore and newly constructed buildings worth Rs 22.53 crore.

The vehicles owned by them between 1991 and 1996, included a Maruti car, a Hindustan Motor’s Contessa, vans and jeeps worth Rs 1.29 crore.

It noted that the value of the assets held by them before the check period was assessed at Rs 2.01 crore while the remaining was acquired over five-six years.

The cash in the bank accounts of the convicts was valued at Rs 97.47 lakh while fixed deposits and shares in their names were worth Rs 3.42 crore.

The apex court had in its 570-page judgement yesterday held that Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her two relatives had entered into a conspiracy and the late Chief Minister, who was a public servant at the relevant time, had come to possess assets disproportionate to the known sources of her income during the check period.

“We have analysed the evidence adduced by the parties and we come to the conclusion that A1 to A4 (all the accused) have entered into a conspiracy and in furtherance of the same, A1 (Jayalalithaa) who was a public servant at the relevant time had come into possession of assets disproportionate to the known sources of her income during the check period and had got the same dispersed in the names of A2 to A4 and the firms and companies involved to hold these on her behalf with a masked front,” the bench had said.

“…the facts and circumstances proved in evidence undoubtedly point out that A2 to A4 were accommodated in the house of A1 pursuant to the criminal conspiracy hatched by them to hold the assets of A1,” it had said.