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Sasikala Natarajan, a close aide to the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, has moved the Karnataka High Court to drop the proceedings against her in the case over the alleged preferential treatment she received during her sentence in Bengaluru jail in 2017.
The petition filed by the former general secretary of AIADMK was heard on Monday by a single judge Nagaprasanna who later inserted the matter for the June 26 hearing.
Sasikala’s latest move follows the acquittal of three officials (Inspector of Police Gajaraja; then Assistant Superintendent of Prisons Dr. Anitha R; then Senior Superintendent of Prisons Krishna Kumar) who were accused of introducing her. VIP treatment at Parabana Agrahara Central Prison.
Sasikala was imprisoned from 2017 to 2021 after being convicted by the Supreme Court in a Multi-crore disproportionate asset status.
Sasikala’s lawyer challenged the proceedings against her on the basis of the three previous acquittals, arguing that there was no argument in favor of corruption because no element of gratification or bribery was obtained in order to obtain preferential treatment. The lawyer also argued that the court’s decision should be in her favor on the basis of her age and social standing.
Previously, while canceling the proceedings against the three officials, the court noted that there were no specific allegations or even disciplinary proceedings against Gajaraja, nor any specific allegations of bribery against Krishna Kumar. The court also said that on the day the Anti-Corruption Bureau was granted permission to proceed with the charges against Dr. Anitha, the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal cleared her.
It was said that no specific allegations were made at the time against these officials.
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