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Political Notes

	June 26, 2006

CBI seeks sanction to prosecute Jayalalithaa



The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has

sought sanction for launching prosecution

against former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister

Jayalalithaa in a decade-old corruption case.

Sources said on Friday that the agency had

sought permission from the Tamil Nadu Legislative

Assembly Speaker for prosecuting Jayalalithaa as

she is a member of the Assembly. It is learnt that

the report of the Superintendent of Police, CBI, has

been sent to the Speaker.

The delay in seeking sanction for her

prosecution was attributed to the “complex nature”

of the case and to certain legal issues involved in it.

Informed sources said that delay was also caused in

getting replies to the Letters Rogatory sent to the

U.S., the Channel Islands and Dubai and in

conducting investigations abroad. The probe involved

various departments of the Tamil Nadu Government

and an examination of relevant witnesses, most of

them being political leaders. Investigations involved

the collection of documents and material from

various agencies.

The case, under the provisions of the Prevention

of Corruption Act, 1988, was initially registered in

1996 on the complaint of the Director-General

(Investigations), Income Tax. It related to alleged

gifts received by Jayalalithaa However, at the request

of the State Government, the case was transferred to

the CBI and re-registered by the agency’s Anti-

Corruption Branch in Chennai as R.C. 50 (A)/96. A

memo was added to the First Information Report

(FIR) in October 1996 in the light of the materials

collected during investigations.

Investigations primarily focussed on receipt of

gifts by her during 1992 in the form of demand

drafts, including drafts worth $300,000 issued by

ANZ Grindlays Bank, Jersey, Channel Islands, drawn

on Bankers Trust Company, New York.

According to informed sources, investigations

revealed that no material was available to establish

that Jayalalithaa had abused her official position as

Chief Minister in the matter of appointments given

to donors of the drafts in the government or public

sector undertakings and that there was no evidence

to establish that drafts were received by her as a

quid pro quo for the appointments given by her. It

was, therefore, concluded that no offence under

Section 13 (1) (d) of PC Act was made out against

her but an offence was made out under Section 11

of PC Act.

According to these sources, on her birthday in

1992, Ms. Jayalalithaa received 89 demand drafts

worth Rs. 2 crore drawn on various banks in Tamil

Nadu, which were purchased in the names of 57

persons and cash of Rs. 15 lakh.

Thousands of undertrials to be freed

The implementation of the long-awaited

amendments to the Code of Criminal

Procedure, has started on June 23, setting the

stage for release from jail of thousands of undertrials

languishing in prison for years. The Cr.P.C.

amendment Act 2005 was notified last week by the

Ministry of Home Affairs. It is being implemented a

year after President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam gave his

assent to the Bill on June 23, 2005.

Arguably, the most radical amendment is the

insertion of a new section (436-A). This entitles an

undertrial, other than those accused of an offence

for which the death penalty is prescribed, to be

released with or without sureties if he/she has been

under detention for more than half the prescribed

period of imprisonment. The new Cr.P.C. section

also provides for release of undertrials who are

detained beyond the maximum period of

imprisonment provided for the alleged offence.

Naxalites go on with violent activities

Despite tall claims by the government,

Naxalites are continuing their violence in

Chhattisgarh. On Monday, June 19, they

kidnapped about 25 villagers from Konta tehsil in

Dantewada district and killed seven of them. Chief

Minister Raman Singh condemned the killings and

said, they have once again exposed the inhuman

face of the extremists.

Nehru deleted from text books

A new controversy has erupted in Madhya

Pradesh over the State Education

Department’s decision to replace two

chapters in school text books, both relating to the

country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. One

of them is a poem on Jawaharlal Nehru and the

other a collection of anecdotes by Pandit Nehru in

memory of his wife Kamla Nehru. A spokesman of

the state education centre said the syllabus was

altered after considering feedback from all sections

of society. “Our attempt has been to exclude the

older generation of authors and include works of

new, modern authors. The new syllabus has been

approved by the standing committee of the state

education council” he said.