Special court exempts Jaya from appearance

A special court hearing the disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha on Thursday exempted her from personal appearance before the court.

On April 5, judge John Michael Cunha had directed Jayalalitha, her confidante Sasikala Natarajan, Sasikala’s nephew Sudhakaran and her sister-in-law Ilavarasi – to appear before him.

However, the judge revised his order and exempted Jayalalitha from personal appearance after the registry of the Karnataka High Court stated that it would not be possible to provide security to her at short notice. The judge said that she could be summoned at a later date.

The case was transferred to Karnataka in 2003 following a Supreme Court directive on a petition by DMK, which contended that a fair trial was not possible in Chennai during her tenure as chief minister then.

In her first appearance before the court in Karnataka, Jayalalitha had deposed before the special court in a closed-door hearing held on the court premises in the central prison complex amid heavy security.