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The Karnataka government on Monday decided to challenge in the Supreme Court Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s acquittal by the Karnataka High Court in the Rs 66.65-crore disproportionate assets case.
“The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has decided to go on an appeal against the high court verdict following an advice from state advocate general (AG) Ravivarma Kumar and special public prosecutor (SPP) B V Acharya,” state law minister T B Jayachandra told reporters here.
The 67-year-old chief of the AIADMK, in power in Tamil Nadu, took oath as chief minister for a fifth time on May 24. She took oath after a high court’s single Bench upheld her appeal, quashed all charges against her and set aside her conviction and the four-year sentence a trial court had given her on September 27, 2014.
Acharya, a former state advocate-general, would be the Karnataka government’s special public prosecutor in the apex court to argue the case.
Though the ruling Congress’ legal cell on May 24 advised the state government against such an appeal, as Karnataka was not an aggrieved party to the 19-year-old case, the Cabinet endorsed the opinion of the AG and SPP on merits after the apex court ruled that the state was the sole prosecuting agency. The case was transferred to Karnataka on November 19, 2003, from a Chennai trial court.
“A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on April 27 directed the state government to appoint a SPP in the long-drawn case as Karnataka was the prosecuting agency on transfer of the case to a Bengaluru trial court since 2003,” Jayachandra recalled.
The Bench said once the case was shifted to Karnataka under Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code, the latter (Karnataka) had no choice but to step into the shoes as a prosecutor.
Clarifying that the decision had nothing to do with inter-state issues, Jayachandra said the Cabinet decision was based on merits and the government’s moral responsibility to honour the top court’s observations and to abide by its ruling.
AIADMK sources said any reaction from the party would come only after the party chief says something.
Various parties in Tamil Nadu has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to appeal.
