AIADMK General Secretary Sasikala Natrajan was today convicted by the Supreme Court in disproportionate asset case and will have to surrender herself to jail for undergoing remaining jail term. This drowns her hope of becoming the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu anytime soon, as she is now barred from contesting elections for the next 10 years.
Former chief minister Jayalalithaa was accused of illegally amassing property, gold and cash during her first stint as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Sasikala, who had been her aide was accused of abetment and criminal conspiracy.
The trial was shifted to a special court in Karnataka from Tamil Nadu because there were fears that Jayalalithaa, who was in power, could wield undue influence.
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In 2014, Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and two other relatives were sentenced to 4 years in jail and a fine of Rs. 100 crore by a special court in Bengaluru. They were arrested and imprisoned in a jail in Bengaluru.
In 2015, the Karnataka High acquitted all. The court had held that the charges against them was not sustainable. The High Court's verdict paved her way back as the chief minister.
The Karnataka government then challenged the acquittal in the Supreme Court by saing there were mathematical errors in calculating the assets by the High Court, which Jayalalithaa countered. After hearing the arguments till June, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict.
