File Photo: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa (Press Trust of India)
The Supreme Court has issued notice to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa after Karnataka's appeal against her acquittal in a corruption case.
The Karnataka government had last month said in a petition to the Supreme Court that Ms Jayalalithaa's acquittal by the state High Court was a "farce."
In May, the Karnataka High Court found that there was no evidence that while in office, Ms Jayalalithaa had accumulated more than Rs 60 crore that could not be explained by her declared income. At the time, she famously drew Rs 1 as a monthly salary. The judge said that her wealth had increased by about 10 per cent during her first term, which was permissible. In its appeal, the Karnataka government has said the judge's math was faulty.
Ms Jayalalithaa returned to office as Chief Minister in May after she was found not guilty of amassing wealth that could not be accounted for by her declared sources of income during her first term as head of the state government in the early 90s.
The nearly two-decades-old case against the former movie star was transferred from Tamil Nadu to neighbouring Karnataka in 2003 to ensure the trial would not be impacted by the influence of either Ms Jayalalithaa or her political opponents.
The verdict allowed Ms Jayalalithaa to return as Chief Minister eight months after she was forced to resign when a lower court in Bangalore found her guilty in the same case and sentenced her to four years in prison.