Charges framed against Jaya

The other accused are Jayalalitha’s friend Sasikala, a former minister, two Indian Administrative Service officers and a former deputy collector of stamps.

The case relates to the purchase of land and buildings belonging to TANSI Enamelled Wires, a subsidiary of the State-owned Small Industries Corporation, by Sasi Enterprises, a firm in which Jayalalitha and Sasikala were partners.

According to the Crime Branch-CID’s chargesheet, the sale, registered in September 1992, involved undervaluation of the sale consideration and consequent evasion of registration charges and stamp duty, resulting in a pecuniary advantage of Rs 66 lakh to the accused.

The main charges have been framed under Section 169 of the Indian PenalCode (public servants bidding for or buying property they are not entitled to possess), Section 420 (cheating), Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act for alleged `criminal misconduct’ in causing loss to the exchequer and gaining pecuniary advantage.

Besides Jayalalitha and Sasikala, others arraigned in the case are former TANSI managing director T R Srinivasan, former AIADMK minister Mohammad Asif, a former deputy collector of stamps S Nagarajan and a secretary in the former chief minister’s office, Karpoorasundara Pandian.

On July 12, the judge had dismissed a petition filed by Jayalalitha seeking discharge from the case and, the next day, fixed July 19 for framing of charges against the accused.

This is the fifth case in which charges have been framed against Jayalalitha after the Rs 66.65 crore `disproportionate assets’ case, Rs 10.50 crore colour tv scam, the Pleasant Stay Hotel case and TANSI foundry case.

On June 10,Anbazhagan had framed charges against the accused in another case relating to purchase of TANSI foundry, another subsidiary of TANSI, by Jaya Publications, a firm also owned by Jayalalitha and Sasikala.

Anbazhagan is one of the three judges appointed by the Tamil Nadu Government to try cases of corruption by public persons during Jayalalitha’s tenure as chief’s ministership of the State between 1991 and 1996.