The disproportionate assets case has had an interesting 18 year history. It all started with a complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy (leader of Janata Party at that time) back in 1996. The case was filed after a sudden increase in Jayalalithaa’s assets from Rs 2.01 crores to Rs 66.65 crores between 1991 and 1996 when she was serving as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Dr Swamy has recently joined the BJP which has been an ally of Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK in the past and the two parties are still believed to maintain good relations.
The case was transferred to Bangalore in 2003 by the Supreme Court on a petition filed by DMK. This was supported by Dr Subramanian Swamy, the original complainant.
The verdict seems to have brought back the people’s belief on the country’s judicial system as evident from comments of twitterites. However, a few are concerned about whether the verdict will hold in higher courts in case Jayalalithaa chooses to appeal and whether she will actually serve a sentence for her crime or be set scot-free on bail till the higher courts reach a conclusion. It has taken 18 years for a verdict to come out and a further delay could mean that justice will never be served in this case.
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