Jayalalithaa moves Supreme Court against DMK, Karnataka appeals on her acquittal

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday asked the Supreme Court to declare the appeals filed against her acquittal in a corruption case by rival DMK and the Karnataka government as non-maintainable.

Last month, the apex court had issued a notice to the AIADMK supremo on Karnataka's appeal against her acquittal in the illegal assets case. In its petition challenging the Karnataka High Court acquitting her in the 18-year-old disproportionate assets case, the Karnataka government had asked for a stay on the order.

In its appeal, running over 4000 pages, the Karnataka government had called the clean chit to Jayalalithaa "illegal" and "farce". In May this year, the High Court had allowed Jayalalithaa's appeal challenging the September 27, 2014 order of a trial court in Bengaluru convicting her and sentencing her to four years imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 100 crore.

AIADMK's arch rival in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, had also filed an appeal challenging the High Court order, but the Karunanidhi-led party did not press for the stay.

Shortly after her acquittal, Jayalalithaa was sworn-in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for a record fifth term in May this year.

In September last year, a Bangalore trial court had convicted the AIADMK chief and the three others of four years in jail in the 18-year-old case for possessing assets worth over Rs 66 crores disproportionate to Jayalalithaa's known sources of income during her first tenure as chief minister from 1991 to 1996.