Bangalore: In a huge blow to the AIADMK, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday denied bail to former Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa in the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case.
Denying bail to the convicted leader, the court said there wasn’t sufficient ground for awarding bail to her.
“The High Court has correctly rejected the bail for Jayalalithaa,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy, who has been leading the campaign against her, said.
Supporters of the AIADMK had earlier begun celebrations in Tamil Nadu after the prosecution in the case told the court that it had no objections to conditional bail to the AIADMK chief. Swamy said he was “surprised when I heard that the prosecution had agreed for a conditional bail for Jayalalithaa”. “The Karnataka government has something to explain on this,” he said.
Jayalalithaa has already spent ten days in the Bangalore jail where she was lodged immediately after her conviction on 27 September.
Ahead of the hearing, posters were spotted in Chennai with purported threats to kidnap natives of Karnataka staying in Chennai. The posters, reportedly from local AIADMK leader KC Vijay, carried the threat to hold the Kannadigas captive until Jayalalithaa is granted bail, Hindustan Times reported.
Jayalalithaa has been in jail ever since a special court in Bangalore sentenced her to four years imprisonment in September under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PoCA). She was also slapped a fine of Rs 100 crore in connection with the Rs 66.65 crore disproportionate assets case.
