SC directs K’taka govt not to appoint SPP in DA case against Jaya

In a relief to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the Supreme Court today directed the Karnataka government not to appoint a special prosecutor in place of G Bhavani Singh who has recently been withdrawn from the trial in a disproportionate assets case against her.

The bench, which also decided to issue notice to the SPP who was removed on August 26, asked the state government to respond to the AIDMK chief’s plea that the decision has put her protracted trial in limbo and it has been taken at the behest of her political foe DMK.

The AIADMK chief is accused of amassing 66.65 crore rupees between 1991 and 1996 when she was the Chief Minister and the case was transferred from Chennai to Bangalore in 2003 by the apex court during her earlier tenure to ensure a fair and free trial.