The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by Lex Property Developers, seeking stay on the disproportionate assets case against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and three others.
Justice Satyanarayan dismissed Lex’s plea, observing that it was an attempt by the company to delay the main case, in which Jayalalithaa has been charged with accumulating Rs 66 crore wealth disproportionate to known sources of income from 1991 to 1995 when she was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
The judge also imposed Rs one lakh penalty on the company.
The Lex Property, of which Jayalalithaa and other accused were directors, approached the High Court after the special court here on March 14 dismissed its plea with Rs 10,000 as cost. Aggrieved, the company came back to the Madras High Court seeking certain clarifications to its order.
However, the Madras court made it clear to Lex that it must work out its remedy before the Karnataka High Court if it was aggrieved.
The disproportionate wealth case against Jayalalithaa was being heard at a special court in Chennai after it was registered in 1996.
However, the case was transferred to special court here by a Supreme Court order on November 18, 2011, on a petition filed by DMK general secretary K Anbazhagan.
Among the assets attached/seized by the prosecution were the properties of Lex. When Lex moved the Madras High Court for appropriate orders, the court in 2011 directed it to approach the special court in Bangalore.
Meanwhile, in the special court Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh resumed the final arguments in Jayalalithaa case. The court posted the matter for hearing for tomorrow. PTI