The Supreme Court on Friday took exception to the lawlessness resorted to allegedly by AIADMK cadres following conviction and four-year term with Rs 100 crore fine awarded to their leader J Jayalalitha in the disproportionate assets case.
A bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices Madan B Lokur and A K Sikri asked senior advocate Fali S Nariman, representing the former Tamil Nadu CM, if it was at her instruction when complainant of the case, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy opposed her plea, contending her cadres showed no regard to the court, put up cartoons against him and even attacked his house.
“We take strong exception to it but we don’t have any control over it,” the bench observed in response to his plea.
Swamy said all sorts of innuendos were made against the judges saying they were Kannadigas and maintained that Jayalalithaa could have put a stop to the violence. On this, Justice Dattu remarked, “For that matter, I am also Kannadiga. What others say, we are not bothered, we look at our conscience and decide cases.”
“I will tell her to issue directives. We have to maintain political morality,” Nariman said.
The court then said, “If Swamy comes up with any such statements (on threat and lawlessness), we will not tolerate it.”
The bench ordered suspension of the sentence handed down to Jayalalitha and three co-convicts and ordered their release on bail on executing a bond with two solvent sureties by each of them to the satisfaction of the Bangalore special court.
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