Jayalalithaa's Return as Chief Minister Could be Delayed: Sources

New Delhi: J Jayalalithaa's widely expected return as chief minister has reportedly been delayed over the possibility of an appeal by Karnataka against her acquittal in a corruption case on Monday.

The former chief minister has not made a single public appearance since the verdict that triggered wild celebrations among her supporters.

Sources in her AIADMK party say the 67-year-old is waiting for a move by the Karnataka government, which has said that it is examining whether the decision to clear Jayalalithaa was based on flawed math.

Special public prosecutor BV Acharya has flagged what he claims is a major miscalculation by the court, and has recommended an appeal.

The Karnataka High Court cancelled Jayalalithaa's conviction and four-year jail sentence saying that she had been incorrectly charged with accumulating wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income during her first term as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Justice CR Kumaraswamy said that he based his decision on a calculation of her assets that suggested that unaccounted wealth was about 8 per cent of her income, which was "within the permissible limit of 10 per cent".

But the prosecutor alleges that the judge miscalculated the former chief minister's loans and her illegal wealth is in fact, 76 per cent of her known income. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah yesterday said his government is examining the allegation.

O Panneerselvam, who stepped in as Tamil Nadu chief minister after Jayalalithaa's conviction by a trial court in September last year and has never objected to being described as her proxy, went to her Poes Garden residence in Chennai with 19 ministers on Wednesday.

Ms Jayalalithaa had to step down after her conviction, which left her disqualified as a lawmaker. Her party men insist there is no cause for delay in her taking charge again.

"Not at all. Definitely not. Because this matter is not a huge matter at all. It will be verified and I don't think this will create a problem in our Amma's taking charge," said AIADMK spokesperson CR Saraswathi.