V K Sasikala (File photo)
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday dismissed a review petition filed by jailed AIADMK leader V K Sasikala in the disproportionate assets case in which she was convicted in February this year. Sasikala, along with two of her relatives, V N Sudhakaran and Ilavarasi, was awarded four-year jail term and has been in prison since the conviction.
Earlier, on May 4 she had moved the Supreme Court seeking review of the February 14 judgement of the court upholding her conviction in the disproportionate assets case in which she was accused along with former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister late J Jayalalithaa.
A trial court had convicted Sasikala in the case and sentenced her to four years in prison. This was upheld by the Supreme Court on February 14 this year.
Defending herself, Sasikala had cited an earlier judgement of the Supreme Court which had said that when the appeal against an accused stands abated on account of his/her death, the appeals against the co-accused would also stand abated. Two other accused — V N Sudhakaran, Jayalalithaa’s foster son, and Elavarasi, widow of Sasikala’s elder brother– had also appealed to the apex court.
The Bengaluru trial court had convicted Sasikala, Jayalalithaa, Sudhakaran and Elavarasi in the case. While the CBI had alleged that the unaccounted wealth was close to Rs 66.65 crore, the special trial court found disproportionate assets worth Rs 53.60 crore, which Jayalalithaa and the three others could not account for.
Sasikala had been in the jail in 1996 when the case had been registered.
