Jayalalithaa Jayaraman, commonly referred to as Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by members in her party, was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and was in office up to 2016 until her death.
She was quite popular especially among the female voters of the state.
Otherwise, having a strong political career, disproportionate asset case against Jayalalithaa, proved to be the single biggest blot on her political life.
Here's a timeline of how things unfolded:
- 14 June 1996: Subramanian Swamy files complaint against Jayalalithaa against the amassed wealth.
- 18 June 1996: The then DMK led government registers FIR against J Jayalalithaa.
- 21 June 1996: On the directions of Principal Sessions Court, Latika Saran, the then DSP of the state, investigates the complaint.
- 4 June 1997: Charge sheet filed in the case against four of the accused (Jayalalithaa, Sasikala, Ilavarasi and Sudhakaran).
- 21 October 1997: The special court frames charges against all the accused.
- 14 May 2001: In Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa led ADMK comes back to power.
- 28 February 2003: Quoting fair trial, the secretary of DMK (K. Anbazhagan), files appeal in Supreme Court to transfer proceedings outside Tamil Nadu.
- 18 November 2003: Appex court orders the trial to be moved to Bangalore, Karnataka
- March 2005: Trial commences in special court in Bangalore.
- Between December 2010 and February 2011: Re-examination of witnesses by prosecution.
- 20, 21 October & 22, 23 November 2011: J Jayalalithaa appears in person in court. She answers questions.
- 13 August 2012: B.V. Acharya, Special Public Prosecutor, resigns quoting efforts transferring him.
- 2 February 2013: G. Bhawani Singh appointed as the special public prosecutor.
- 26 August 2013: Karnataka government removes G. Bhawani Singh as prosecutor.
- 7 September 2013: SC reinstates G. Bhawani Singh as the special public prosecutor.
- 28 August 2014: Trial concludes. Court decides 20 September as the date of sentence.
- 16 September 2014: On grounds of security, Court allows appeal of Jayalalithaa to move proceedings to different court and sentence to 27 September.
- 27 September 2014: Court pronounces verdict - all four convicted are sentenced.
- 29 September 2014 - Jayalalithaa files bail plea in Karnataka HC.
- 1 October 2014: Bail plea is rejected and is postponed for six more days.
- 7 October 2014 - Bail plea rejected by Karnataka High Court Bench.
- 17 October 2014: SC grants bail to Jayalalithaa.
- 27 April 2015: SC holds appointment of Bhawani Singh as prosecutor in appeal as wrong in law but doesn't allow a fresh hearing.
- 11 May 2015: The Karnataka High Court acquits Jayalalithaa is acquitted of all corruption charges.
- 23 May 2015: J Jayalalithaa returns to power as CM of TN.
Background:
Jayalalithaa, on 27 September 2014, was sentenced to four years in jail. She was also fined Rs 100 crore by the Special Court in Bangalore.
The late CM of TN was convicted in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case. It was launched by Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy (now member of Bharatiya Janata Party) on 20 August 1996 on the basis of Income Tax Department report on her.
On appeal, on 11 May 2015, a special Bench of the Karnataka High Court set aside her conviction. It acquitted her and also her alleged associates–Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi, her nephew and her disowned foster son Sudhakaran.