Disproportionate Assets Case: Jayalalithaa's Niece Moves SC Seeking Return Of Her Confiscated Properties

The petitioner said proceedings in respect of her deceased aunt stand abated in terms of the judgment rendered by the apex court in February 2017.

New Delhi:The niece of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha has moved the Supreme Court seeking the return of the properties confiscated in the disproportionate assets case against her deceased aunt.

J. Deepa, niece of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, filed the special leave petition through advocate M. Sathya Kumar. The plea contended that since the criminal case against her aunt got abated following her death in December 2016, her assets seized during the proceedings have to be released.

The plea said the Madras High Court with an order dated May 27, 2020, recognized the petitioner as one of the Class-II legal heirs to the estate of late J. Jayalalitha, along with her brother, and granted letters of administration in respect of the estate held individually or in the names of the firms or companies and the credits of the former CM.

The petitioner said the proceedings in respect of her deceased aunt stand abated in terms of the judgment rendered by the apex court in February 2017. “Hence, Dr. J. Jayalalitha cannot be treated as a convict resulting in the confiscating of properties seized by the prosecution….The properties under seizure are to be returned by lifting the attachment order passed under the Ordinance, 1944. Therefore, any consequential proceedings against J. Jayalalitha would not survive”, said the plea.

The plea said with the demise of the former CM, the appeals that relate to her stand abated by the judgment of the apex court, and her legal heirs get entitlement to claim back all the properties both movable and immovable, which are all confiscated and attached.

In September 2014, the trial court convicted Jayalalitha for the offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act and she was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of four years and pay a fine of Rs.100 crores.

The Karnataka High Court in 2015 set aside the conviction and acquitted her. While the state government’s plea assailing the high court order was pending in the apex court, the petitioner’s aunt passed away.

“Therefore, in respect of J. Jayalalitha who was arrayed as A 1, the criminal appeal stood abated and the direction of the special court towards confiscation/forfeiture of the attached property is limited only to A 2 to A 4 and it is not applicable to Dr. J. Jayalalitha”, said the plea.

On January 13, 2025, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to entertain a petition filed by J. Deepa and J. Deepak, niece and nephew of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, besides being her legal heirs, claiming right over the confiscated property belonging to her in the disproportionate assets (DA) case.

Justice V. Srishananda passed the order while upholding the verdict given by the special court on July 12, 2023, rejecting their plea for releasing the confiscated assets in their favour.

J Deepa, in her plea before the apex court, said the impugned judgment of the high court is contrary to facts and materials placed on record, and as such the impugned judgment is liable to be set aside by the apex court.

The plea contended that the high court has erroneously discharged the prosecution from the onus of segregation of assets which was seized by the prosecution before the check period and during check period assets. “The Prosecution having got all the data and relevant documents pertaining to the period in question, it is the appropriate authority to segregate the assets based on the check period. The burden of proving that an asset was acquired before the check period cannot be shifted to the petitioner”, said the plea.