File photo of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa will not have to take a break from campaigning to appear in a Chennai court in a tax case. She had been asked to show up on April 10 along with her close aide and business partner, N Sasikala; she had skipped that appearance.
But the Supreme Court today agreed to the Chief Minister's request to postpone her appearance to after April 24, when Tamil Nadu votes in the national election.
A date has not been set.
The Supreme Court, which had initially ordered that the trial should be completed in three months, has today also agreed to a three-month extension.
Jayalalithaa and Sasikala face criminal charges for failing to file income tax returns more than 20 years ago, linked to a company they co-owned. The Chief Minister's lawyers had claimed that they did not have any taxable income for the year 1993-94. But income tax officials say it's obligatory to file returns.