Special court grills Jayalalithaa for second day

Appearing before a special court in Bangalore for the second day today in a disproportionate assets case, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa fielded some 300 questions from the judge - about the same she faced on Thursday - before leaving for Chennai in the evening after a long day.

Reports say the chief minister looked relieved and happy as she left for her home state, apparently pleased with the way she had presented her case before special judge B M Mallikarjunaiah. However, her ordeal is far from over, as the judge has posted the matter to 8 November for further hearing.

Her counsel said she would likely move the Supreme Court to avoid more personal appearances in the case.

Jayalalithaa is charged with amassing Rs66 crore between 1991 and 1996 when also she was chief minister of Tamil Nadu. The case was filed in Chennai over a decade ago, but was transferred to Bangalore in Karnataka by the Supreme Court in 2003 to ensure a free and fair trial.

Jayalalithaa was directed by the Supreme Court to appear in person in the Bangalore court though she had cited security concerns and her busy schedule as chief minister to seek exemption. The apex court had rejected her plea to be allowed to give her statement through video conference.

Mallikarjunaiah is holding a special sitting in the city central prison complex in eastern suburb of Parappana Agrahara in view of the leader's security requirements. As on Thursday, she landed at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd's airport in city centre and drove in a convoy of vehicles to the prison complex, which was heavily guarded with around 1,500 Bangalore police personnel assisted by several of their Tamil Nadu counterparts.

Like on Thursday, Jayalalithaa sat right next to the judge in court. Reports say that while she mostly gave precise answers, she said "I don't know" or "I don't have the knowledge" to many of the questions. She stuck to her stand that the case had been filed against her in political vendetta.
It was DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's government that took Jayalalithaa to court as it came to power in 1996, accusing her of amassing assets disproportionate to her known sources of income by misusing her term in office from 1991 to 1996.

Among the assets under scrutiny in the case are farm houses and bungalows in Chennai; vast tracts of agricultural land in Tamil Nadu; a farmhouse in Hyderabad; a tea estate in the Nilgiris; jewellery worth crores of rupees; industrial sheds; cash in banks and investments; and a fleet of luxury cars.