Another plea against Jayalalithaa's acquittal in DA case to be heard by Supreme Court

New Delhi: A petition raising technical faults in the acquittal of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in assets case by the Karnataka High Court will be heard by a new bench. [caption id=“attachment_2792658” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa. PTI[/caption] When the matter came up before the bench of Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy, the judges referred it to another bench which is seized of the similar issues pertaining to acquittal of actor Salman Khan by the Bombay High Court. The bench of Justices Ghose and Roy has already reserved its verdict on the main appeal filed by the Karnataka Government against the acquittal of the AIADMK supremo. It said that the main appeal against Jayalalithaa’s acquittal said the fresh matter raising technical ground can be tagged with a plea filed on similar grounds challenging actor Salman Khan’s acquittal in a 2002 hit-and-run case. Maharashtra Government has filed the main appeal against the actor’s acquittal. The technical grounds in both the matters of Jayalalithaa and Salman has been raised by senior advocate Parmanand Katara which will be taken up by another bench on 5 July. His plea seeking declaration of Karnataka HC verdict acquitting Jayalalithaa in the DA case as “arbitrary” and “void”, was earlier referred by the apex court to a bench already dealing with the matter. It had also asked him why he had not intervened when the matter was in the High Court. The senior advocate had said there has been increasing tendency of such appeals being moved in different High Courts and the Supreme Court should settle the issue. Maintaining that Jayalalithaa was convicted and sentenced for four years with fine, he had said hence the law required that the revision petition should have been filed under section 397/401 of CrPC (powers of High Court to hear revision petitions) and not a criminal appeal under section 374(2). Katara had said that under section 374 of CrPC, the appeal can be filed if the conviction is seven and more than seven years and not less. He sought that his petition be heard by constitutional bench to decide the substantial question of law and to clarify the ambiguity. A similar plea was filed by him in April this year seeking declaration of Bombay High Court verdict acquitting actor Salman Khan in a 2002 hit-and-run case as “arbitrary” and “void” which was earlier referred to the bench which is hearing Maharashtra government’s appeal against his acquittal in the case.