Bangalore court orders Jayalalithaa's release

Bangalore: A special court Saturday ordered the release of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa from the central jail here a day after the Supreme Court granted her interim bail in a corruption case, a top official said.

The special court judge (John Michael D'Cunha) has issued the order after Jayalalithaa's counsel furnished a bond of Rs.2 crore and surety of assets were submitted. We will release her after receiving the court order and completing the formalities," Karnataka's Inspector General of Prisons (IGP) K.V. Gagandeep told IANS.

Earlier, Jayalalithaa's lawyers submitted to the judge a certified copy of the apex court order suspending her four-year jail term and granting interim bail till Dec 18.

A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu Friday stayed the four-year jail term sentence and granted an interim bail to Jayalalithaa till December 18 in a corruption case that dragged on for 18 years.

The special court Sep 27 convicted Jayalalithaa in the Rs.66.65-crore disproportionate assets' case and sentenced her to four years simple imprisonment, with a fine of Rs.100 crore under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The court also issued separate orders to release Jayalalithaa's three associates -- Sasikala Natarajan, V. Sudhakaran and J. Elavarisi, after they furnished a bond of Rs.1 crore each and gave sureties as sought.

The trio was also granted bail by the apex court in the same graft case, in which they were also convicted and sentenced to four years jail term with a fine of Rs.10 crore each.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Pannerselvam, a few cabinet ministers and the ruling AIADMK's lawmakers reached the central prison at Parapanna Agrahara in the city's southern suburb to receive Jayalalithaa when she steps out of the jail.

Hundreds of Jayalalithaa's fans and her party's cadres have also gathered near the jail to greet her when she comes out of the jail and drives to the old airport in the city's eastern suburb to fly back to Chennai, about 350km from here.

In a related development, police imposed ban order under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in 1km radius of the central jail and stepped up security by deploying an additional 1,000 personnel.