Thursday, April 6, 2017

Apex court refuses to review abatement of charges against Jaya
New Delhi:
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 
 


The Supreme Court dismissed on Wednesday the Karnataka government's plea urging the court to re-examine its verdict that had abated proceedings in the disproportionate assets case against former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa following her death.
 
A bench of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy dismissed the plea, challenging the apex court's verdict by which proceedings against her was abated. Seeking to recover `100 crore fine in the disproportionate assets case, the Karnataka government filed a review petition saying, “The court overlooked the position of law that if the death takes place after arguments are concluded and the judgment is reserved, the appeal does not abate.“

The bench, however, found no merit in the plea and refused to re-examine its verdict. The court also turned down the state government's plea seeking hearing on its review plea and dismissed it during in-chamber proceedings.

“These review petitions have been filed against judgment dated February 14, 2017, whereby the appeals filed by the appellant-State of Karnataka -were allowed setting aside the judgment and order of the high court and A-1 (Jayalalithaa) having expired meanwhile, it was held that the appeals, so far as those relate to her stood abated. We have considered the review petitions filed by the State of Karnataka on merits. In our opinion, no case for review of our order dated February 14, 2017 is made out. Consequently, the review petitions are dismissed on merits,“ it said.

The state government in its petition had said that the apex court finding that the criminal appeal filed by special leave petition under Article 136 of the Constitution has abated is “erroneous“ as there is no provision either in the Constitution or Supreme Court Rules 2013 pertaining to the issue.
“In the case of appeal against conviction, it is settled law that the appeal does not abate if the accused has been sentenced to pay fine either along with imprisonment or otherwise. This principle is equally applicable to the present case where the trial court has imposed on the accused `100 crore fine, along with imprisonment,“ it had said.

Even though the question of A-1(Jayalalithaa) undergoing further imprisonment does not arise (due to her death), the sentence to pay fine is legally sustainable which has to be recovered from the estate, it said.
“This is particularly so, where the offence alleged is of illegally acquiring disproportionate assets. Therefore, the finding that the appeal has abated in not correct,“ the state government had contended.

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