Apex court refuses to stay probe against Jayalalithaa

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the judicial inquiry ordered by the Tamil Nadu Government into allegations of land grabbing...

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the judicial inquiry ordered by the Tamil Nadu Government into allegations of land grabbing in Siruthavoor villagein Kanchipuram district. The DMK and the CPI (M) had alleged that 53 acres of land — given to the Dalits by former Chief Minister C N Annadurai in 1967 — was grabbed by some people to build a farmhouse which was used by former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. While Jayalalithaa had maintained that it was a rented house, the one man Commission set up by the Government was asked to inquire into the ownership of the land and find out who built a farmhouse on it.

Giving a directive in this regard, the Bench, comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveendran, also issued notice to the state Government seeking its reply within four weeks.

The petition, filed by T Chitra, alleged that the proceedings before Justice K P Sivasubramaniam (retd) was against the supporters of a particular political party. Senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Chitra, challenged the terms of reference of the Commission. “It’s a political fight between two leaders in Tamil Nadu. There was no need for any Commission of Inquiry,” Salve argued.

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In another case, the apex court on Friday issued notice to the Income Tax Department on Jayalalithaa’s plea challenging a Madras High Court decision pertaining to disclosure of an income of Rs 1.72 core for the assessment year 1998-99 under the Samadhan Scheme. A Bench of Justices S H Kapadia and B Sudershan Reddy posted the appeal for final disposal on February 25.

Senior advocates Salve and Arun Jaitely challenged the High Court’s decision, where it set aside an order by the Income Tax Settlement Commission (ITSC) accepting her application for disclosure of income under the scheme.

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