CM Jaylalitha convicted

FE Team | Published: September 28, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Jaylalitha

NEW DELHI, Sept 27 (BSS): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jaylalitha has been pronounced guilty in a disproportionate assets case. She has been reportedly convicted under Prevention of Corruption Act Section 13 (1) (E).
After this verdict, Jaylalitha can no longer be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
She was convicted by a special court in Bangalore here on Saturday after being found guilty in an Rs 666.5 million (66.65 crore) disproportionate assets case.
Special judge John Michael Cunha pronounced the judgment running over 1000 pages in the 18-year old case. She has to step down from the post of Tamil Nadu chief minister.
The verdict is likely to upend the state's political setup since there is no clear successor to Jaylalitha, although senior AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister O Paneerselvam is widely tipped to take over.
More importantly, the law-and-order situation in Tamil Nadu could deteriorate significantly. Already, some television channels in the state were blocked to prevent escalation of violence. Reports of clashes between AIADMK and DMK supporters were trickling in.
The quantum of sentence will be delivered shortly, but the chief minister faces up to seven years in prison. Under new laws on the probity of elected officials, Jaylalitha will have to step down from her position. It is not clear who could replace her.
She also cannot contest elections for the next six years or unless a higher court overturns the special court's verdict.