AIADMK supporters celebrate the Supreme Court's decision to grant bail to their party leader. (Press Trust of India)
J Jayalalithaa, arrested three weeks ago, is likely to leave a prison in Bangalore today. The former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Friday on medical grounds.
Here are the 10 latest developments:
- Ms Jayalalithaa, 66, followed the Supreme Court's directive and issued a statement on Friday evening, urging the adoring workers of her party, the AIADMK, to remain calm and not resort to violence, as they have in recent weeks.
- She was convicted by a Bangalore court on September 27 for collecting land, gold and other assets vastly exceeding her income in a case that had dragged on for nearly two decades.
- She was sentenced to four years in jail; she has appealed against her conviction and sentence in the Karnataka High Court. (Also read: How Jayalalithaa's 18 Year-Long Trial Ended in 7 Minutes)
- The Supreme Court on Friday asked her lawyers to ensure that all paperwork for her appeal is completed by December 18, or her bail could be cancelled.
- "If the paperwork is not filed within two months, then we won't give you even a single day more," the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu said.
- The top court said it will then ask the Karnataka High Court to decide her appeal within three months to ensure a faster trial than the current case, which dragged on for nearly two decades.
- Following her conviction, Jayalalithaa, who heads the AIADMK, was obliged by law to step down as Tamil Nadu chief minister. She was replaced by loyalist O Panneerselvam at a swearing-in ceremony where many Cabinet members sobbed into handkerchiefs in an emotional display of fidelity.
- Outside her famous Poes Garden residence in Chennai today, hundreds of supporters danced joyously, shouting "Amma, Amma" in the pouring rain. (Read more...)
- Her case was transferred from Tamil Nadu to adjacent Karnataka in 2001 to ensure her political clout would not influence her trial.
- Jayalalithaa's AIADMK is the third-largest party in Parliament, an accomplishment owed partly to her schemes that entitle people in Tamil Nadu to free grinders, laptops and more.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
