Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court will hear on Tuesday AIADMK supremo Jayalalithaa's plea seeking immediatebail and suspension of her four-year sentence in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case. Bracing up for the anticipated entry of AIADMK supportersand leaders into the city from the Hosur border, the police have tightened security in and around the High Court and Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, where Jayalalithaa is lodged since September 27.
The High Court vacation bench had on October 1 deferred till October 7 pleas of Jayalalithaa and her close aide Sasikala and her relatives VN Sudhakaran and Elavarasi, who were also convicted in the case, to be taken by a regular bench after the end of Dasara vacation.
"We have made all security arrangements to avoid any untoward incidents. We have information on a lot of AIADMK supporters and leaders flocking to the city from the border areas of Hosur," ACP (Law and Order) Alok Kumar. The police are prepared for the influx of AIADMK supporters and leaders, who are camping in various lodges and resorts on the eve of Jayalalithaa's bail plea hearing, Kumar said. "Let them come. We have handled the situation on earlier occasions--on the verdict day and bail plea hearing days. We will handle the situation this time too," Kumar said.
Section 144 of the CrPC has been clamped within one km radius of the High Court and Parapanna Agrahara Prison, where Sasikala, Sudhakaran and Elavarasi are also lodged. As many as 500 and 1,000 police personnel have been deployed in areas surrounding the High Court and Parapanna Agrahara jail, respectively, Kumar said.
He said 500 police personnel, including from Karnataka State Reserve Police Force and City Armed Reserve, and two DCPs and five ACPs would be deployed at the High Court. 1,000 personnel, including four DCPs and six ACPs and personnel from KSRP and CAR, will be deployed around the jail premises, Kumar added.
Jayalalithaa's counsel Ram Jethmalani had on October 1 pleaded for suspension of the sentence pending appeal and for her release on bail, which was opposed by Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh, who was the SPP in the Special Court in the disproportionate assets case. In his verdict on September 27, Special Judge John Michael D'Cunha had convicted Jayalalithaa, sentencing her to four years imprisonment, and slapped a staggering fine of Rs 100 crore in the corruption case.
Sasikala, Sudhakaran, disowned foster son of the former Chief Minister, and Elavarasi were also sentenced to four years in jail, besides a fine of Rs 10 crore each. In her petitions seeking immediate bail and challenging her sentence, Jayalalithaa has maintained that the charges of amassing wealth against her were false and that she had acquired property through legal means.
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