Jaya denied bail, to move SC

Bangalore: Jailed former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa again failed to get relief from Karnataka High Court which on Tuesday rejected her bail plea, abruptly ending frenzied celebrations by her supporters after one of her lawyers earlier said she had been granted conditional bail. She may challenge in the Supreme Court on Wednesday or Thursday.

There "are no grounds" to give bail as corruption amounts to "violation of human rights" and leads to economic imbalance, observed Justice A V Chandrashekhara, who pronounced the order in a packed court room that came as a blow to the AIADMK chief and her supporters outside and elsewhere. "While in many cases bail may be granted, I also notice the observations made by honourable SC towards corruption in recent cases.

Corruption is seen as a violation of human rights," he said.

Earlier, Special Public Prosecutor Bhavani Singh told the court he had no objection to grant of conditional bail to Jayalalithaa, who is in prison here since her conviction by the Special Court on September 27 in the disproportionate assets case.

"My client will take a call," senior counsel Ram Jethmalani, who appeared for Jayalalithaa, told PTI, after the verdict when asked whether they will approach the Supreme Court. However, another lawyer of Jayalalithaa said she had no option but to approach the Supreme Court either Wednesday or Thursday.

The court also rejected the pleas for bail by Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala and her relatives V N Sudhakaran, disowned foster-son of the former Chief Minister, and Ilavarasi, who have also been sent to four years in jail in the 18-year-old case.Jethmalani strongly pleaded for immediate bail to the 66-year-old leader citing the Supreme Court verdict granting relief to former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad in the fodder scam. The court did not accept the submission, with the judge noting that Lalu Prasad had spent 10 months in jail before being granted bail by the apex court. Jethmalani also earlier pleaded for suspension of the sentence by the Special Court which had sent her to four years in jail.

Jethmalani asked for suspending the sentence pending appeal under Section 389 of the Criminal Procedure Code, under which pending any appeal by a convicted person, the appellate court may order that the execution of the sentence or order appealed against be suspended.

Also, if the person is in confinement, that he or she be released on bail, or on own bond. The "regular practice" was to give bail, Jethmalani told Justice Chandrashekhara.