New Delhi: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday received a reprieve, with the Supreme Court directing the Election Commission to maintain status quo on the case registered against her for alleged electoral malpractices.
The court, while hearing a plea filed by DMK MP S Kuppusamy, had ruled last month that prima facie, there enough evidence to take action against Jayalalithaa.
The AIADMK chief allegedly hid information regarding her properties in Kodanadu in the Nilgiri hills.
A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice R V Raveenderan passed the direction after counsel for the AIADMK chief referred to the SLP filed by her challenging the Madras High Court's direction on registration of a case against her for alleged electoral malpractices.
On April 24, the High Court had directed the EC to register a case against Jayalalithaa following a petition filed by DMK MP C Kuppuswamy alleging that AIADMK leader had suppressed facts and filed nominations from four Assembly constituencies as against the permissible limit of two constituencies.
The said constituencies for which she had reportedly filed the nominations during the 2001 Assembly elections were Andipati, Krishnagiri, Bhuvnagiri and Pudkotai.
However, Jayalalithaa in her SLP has claimed that she had only personally filed the nominations from Andipatti and Krishnagiri constituencies, whereas nominations were filed on her name from Bhuvnagir and Pudukotai.
She submitted that in the latter two constituencies she had not taken any oath and the same was taken note of by the Returning Officers for the two constituencies.
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