Setting aside on earlier Karnataka High Court order, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday convicted All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK) general secretary V.K. Sasikala in connection with a 19-year old disproportionate assets case. She has been ordered to surrender to the law enforcement authorities immediately to serve the remainder of her four-year jail term.
She also will not be able to contest elections for 10 years or hold public office.
The verdict comes in the backdrop of the ongoing power struggle within the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu – between Sasikala and the incumbent Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam.
The pending disproportionate assets case that posed a legal hurdle against Sasikala’s taking over as the chief minister, dates back to 1996. Late J. Jayalalithaa, Sasikala and her two relatives, Ilavarasi and Sudhagaran, were convicted in the case that alleged that the former chief minister owned assets far exceeding her known sources of income.
