BANGALORE: When J Jayalalithaa was chief minister of Tamil Nadu from 1991 till 1996, her representatives contacted jewelers through telephone and bought gold and diamond jewels and silver articles for her.

They paid money, but never asked for receipts, the special court that convicted the AIADMK supremo in a disproportionate assets case has observed.

According to the investigation, Jayalalithaa filed wealth tax returns for 7,040 grams of gold she owned before becoming the CM. However, at the end of her tenure(1996), she owned 20,548 grams of gold, then valued at Rs 8,90,55,032 (Rs 433 per gram).

In his order, special judge Michael John Cunha said Jayalalithaa failed to explain how she managed to get so much jewellery. “Even during the trial, Jayalalithaa failed to furnish any satisfactory explanation except stating that all the jewelry was in her possession from the commencement of the check period (1991-96). But the evidence proves it otherwise,” the judge observed. Further, the court observed that Jayalalithaa did not produce evidence to back her claim that she had received the silver articles as gift.

“Wealth tax returns filed by Jayalalithaa categorically admitted that silverware were received as gifts. This declaration is consistent with the case of the prosecution that, the additional silverware amounting to 416 kgs were acquired by her during the check period. Jaylalithaa has not produced any reliable evidence in proof of the source for acquisition of the silverware. As a result, it could be safely inferred that 416 kgs of silver is the illegal acquisition of Jayalalithaa,” the judge observed.

Sub-registrars undervalued assets Bangalore

A handful of sub-registrars were always at the beck and call of J Jayalalithaa when she was CM of Tamil Nadu and they undervalued many assets she and her fellow convicts purchased, judge Michael John Cunha observed in his order.

Shockingly, documents of many such properties did not even have names of purchasers though their market value ran into crores of rupees, the judge said. “The conspiracy among the accused persons is also proved by the evidence of the Sub-Registrar, North Beach, Sub-Registrar office ... witnesses have unequivocally stated before the court that, they were called to Poes Garden and on the instructions of the higher officers they attended to the errands at the instance of the accused.

It has come in evidence that the sub-registrar has bent the rules and has registered large number of documents by taking personal interest even though all these properties were undervalued. It is also shocking to note that, he even registered six documents without the names of the purchasers being entered in the documents, which indicate that the sub-registrar was also aware of the purpose and design of the accused. It can be presumed that, the district registrar obliged to tour the entire district and register the properties at the residence of the purchasers, only to oblige Jayalalithaa and to assist her in the acquisition of huge properties,” the judge observed.

