File photo of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
The decision to declare J Jayalalithaa not guilty in a corruption case may have been based on deeply flawed math, the prosecutor has alleged.
"In terms of percentage there is a glaring arithmetical error," said public prosecutor BV Acharya.
Yesterday, the Karnataka High Court said that the politician had been incorrectly charged with accumulating wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income during her first term as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. She had said her monthly salary was just a rupee. The prosecution said that in five years, her assets including property and jewelry added up to 66 crores.
But the judge said that the prosecution had mixed up assets of firms owned by her with her personal wealth. Justice CR Kumaraswamy found that Ms Jayalalithaa's illegal or unaccounted wealth was about 8% of her income - which was "relatively small" and "within the permissible limit of 10 per cent".
The prosecution claims that the rise in her illegal wealth was miscalculated and far exceeds the limit.
Mr Acharya said according to page 852 of the Karnataka High Court judgement, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's loans add up to almost Rs 11 crore, while the judge calculated her borrowings at 24 crores - around 13 crores more.
Jayalalithaa's disproportionate assets, therefore, add up to around Rs 16 crore and not Rs 3 crore.
"So her assets are disproportionate by 76% and not 8.12 (as stated by the judge). Since the glaring mistake has come to our notice only now, we are considering all options available," said Mr Acharya, who fought the case on behalf of the government of Karnataka, which is where the trial was shifted from Tamil Nadu in 2003 to ensure it would not be impacted by the politics of Ms Jayalalithaa's home state.
The prosecution has three months to appeal in the Supreme Court against Ms Jayalalithaa's acquittal.
The 67-year-old had quit office after her conviction last year. She can now return as Tamil Nadu chief minister but must be elected as a state law-maker within six months.