New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea filed by one of the legal heirs of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, seeking the release of her assets, which were obtained in breach of the check period in the disproportionate assets case.
The matter came up before a bench comprising justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma.
Advocate M Sathya Kumar, representing the petitioner J Deepa, contended before the bench that gold and silver items were earned by Jayalalithaa during her acting career. Kumar stressed that items gifted by her mother must be returned, and also those properties were acquired beyond the check period.
The bench asked the counsel, “We don't know, how would you identify which items were acquired in breach of the check period….”.
The apex court made it clear that the abatement of the proceedings before it, due to Jayalalithaa's death, would not mean that she has been acquitted in the case.
The bench cited that the previous judgment in her case restored the trial court's judgment in toto and due to Jayalalithaa’s death only the proceedings against her got abated.
After hearing submissions, the bench said it was not inclined to entertain the matter and dismissed the petition filed by Deepa, who moved the apex court challenging the Karnataka High Court's order of January 13, 2025. J. Deepa, niece of the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
The high court had rejected the plea to return the movable and immovable assets, seized by the authorities, out of the check period in the multi-crore disproportionate assets case.
The plea, filed in the apex court, 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 heir 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.
