Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa may have to wait longer for a court in Karnataka to decide on her appeal against her jail sentence in a corruption case.
The Supreme Court today asked a new bench to decide on a petition that had asked for the removal of the prosecutor handling the case in the Karnataka High Court.
DMK leader K. Anbazhagan had said in his petition that Bhavani Singh must be removed as Special Public Prosecutor as his appointment was not valid.
A two-judge Supreme Court bench has given a split verdict on the DMK petition.
One judge said if the allegations by the DMK were true, "this is a classic case of the accused using influence and power to derail the criminal justice system for 15 years." The other judge felt that the prosecutor can continue if the Karnataka government hasn't cancelled his appointment.
Jayalalithaa, her aide Sasikala and two others were found guilty of collecting assets worth 66 crores illegally and sentenced to four years in prison by a trial court in Bangalore last year.
Their appeal was heard by the Karnataka High Court and the verdict had been reserved.
If Bhavani Singh is removed as prosecutor, hearings in the last three months on Jayalalithaa's appeal against her conviction would stand cancelled.
The appeals will then have to be heard again after a new prosecutor is appointed.
The Supreme Court had given a three-month deadline to the Karnataka High Court to complete hearings on Jayalalithaa's appeal.
"Jayalalithaa Backed Ram Mandir, Scrapping Of Article 370": Tamil Nadu BJP Chief PM Modi's "Remember Jayalalithaa" Jibe At DMK In BJP's Solo Tamil Nadu Fight Dead Leaders "Rise" In Tamil Nadu, As Deepfake Tools Warp Poll Campaign Man Who Punched Pune Woman In Road Rage Case Arrested Along With Wife The Return Of 'Razakars' To Bangladesh Political Discourse After 53 Years How The "Vampire" Serial Killer Murdered 42 Women, Packed Them In Sacks Does Sunscreen Cause Cancer? As Summer Rages, Misinformation Scorches US Now, Tourist Vehicles Entering Sikkim Will Have To Carry Garbage Bags Man's Fundraising Effort For Barber's New Phone Ends In Sweet Surprise Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.