CHENNAI: An hour after a seven-foot high portrait of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa was unveiled in the Tamil Nadu assembly by Speaker P Dhanapal, the DMK moved the Madras high court seeking to remove it, as Jayalalithaa was "found guilty of corruption charges by the Supreme Court."
When the court commenced its proceedings, senior counsel P Wilson for the DMK made an urgent mention and requested the court to take up the plea on an urgent basis. However, the court said that since it had to some prior cases to deal with, it would take up DMK's plea for hearing later.
According to the petitioner, Jayalalithaa was found guilty in corruption charges. She was originally convicted by a special court; later the same was set aside by the Karnataka high court and on appeal, the Supreme Court found all the accused, including her guilty of corruption charges, he said.
In view of her demise, she was not sentenced and appeals against her were treated abated. At the same time, the co-accused were convicted, sentenced and attachement of their properties ordered.
In such circumstances, the DMK had already moved the high court seeking to remove the photos and the name of Jayalalithaa displayed and mentioned in government offices, buildings, public sector undertakings and government schemes, he said. The case is still pending in the court.
While the facts being so, the Speaker of the assembly arbitrarily took a decision to unveil a portrait of Jayalalithaa in the assembly hall on Monday. Claiming that the decision of the Speaker was unconstitutional, the counsel said, "It is antithetical to standards of morality and probity enshrined in our Constitution and expounded by the Supreme Court of India from time to time." The advocate then sought the court to grant an interim direction asking the authorities to forthwith remove the portrait of Jayalalithaa from the precincts of assembly, pending disposal of the above plea.
